Forever & Always
by G Reader1
Summary: After a one night stand at a back to school party, Autumn finds herself in the one situation she tried so hard to avoid: being a pregnant teen. Knowing the struggles her own mom went through, Autumn tries to figure out what's best for both herself and her baby as she's faced with hard choices. All the while, she finds herself getting closer to Paul, the friend of her baby's father.
1. The Beginning Part 1

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

 **A/N: I imagine Cristina Sarakas as Autumn, Michaela Conlin as Angela, and Nancy Kwan as Andrea.**

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Autumn's P.O.V.

It all starts when my mom convinces me to go to a back to school party that some guy named Bryce Norgay is throwing for the seniors and juniors. Don't ask me how my mother got the info on a high school party, sometimes I don't even think _she_ knows. But then again, it's always been easy for her.

My mother, Angela Lee, had been popular when she was in high school. The kind of popular you'd only expect to see in movies or tv shows where there are cliques and social hierarchies in which the most beautiful people are at the top, while the so called "nerds" and "loners" are at the bottom. My nana religiously showed me photo albums of my mother at several school dances with various boys on her arm, and pictures of her at various sports games as a cheerleader. She'd supposedly had a big group of friends and always went out every Friday night. But she'd lost all of her friends when she got pregnant with me during her junior year of high school.

And as my mom rifles through my new box-sized closet for an outfit for said party, I can tell that she's hoping that I'll get out there and make friends and hopefully comeback with the all the "juicy gossip" about whether or not I'd slept with a hot guy or not. And though my family—I wouldn't really call it a big family, since it's only been Nana, Mom, and I since the day I was conceived—is really close and shares everything with each other, I'm not going to tell her if I have sex. Not to mention Nana, who—even though she left China back in the fifties, leaving behind her very religious parents—is constantly telling me how I needed to save myself for marriage—and not even for a religious reason or anything… or so she claims. She has claimed that since both her and my mother had not waited until marriage—though to be fair, neither of them ever married, and Nana was in her mid-thirties when she'd had my mother—that I have to be the one to break that streak. As if I ever want to get married in the first place. I am happy being single, thank you very much.

"How about this one?" Mom pulls out a sparkly tank top that I think I wore for Halloween one year when my best friend Hannah and I had wanted to dress up as exotic dancers so that both of our grandparents would have aneurysms. I raise my eyebrows as I twirl around in my spinning desk chair.

"Um… Mom, that's my exotic dancer tank top from Halloween." I stop spinning and close my eyes, fighting away dizziness. Twirling around in a spinning chair is like an addiction to me. One day you'll probably see me along with all the people who eat chalk and their own hair and the people who claim that they're in love with their cars on _My Strange Addiction_.

Mom gives me a look, sighs as loud as she possibly can, and puts the shirt back. She rifles through my closet some more with a look on her face that you usually only see on high schoolers during finals week. I aspire to have that level of concentration during my exams.

Suddenly, her face lights up with excitement as she pulls out a black and white stripped crop top and then hurries over to my dresser, opens the creaky old wooden draw and pulls out a maroon red high-waisted skirt that only just barley goes down past my fingertips, and my black pantyhose. I give out a sarcastic laugh and stand up.

"Absolutely not," I hiss as I take the clothing from her grasp. "Not happening." She gives out a huff in frustration. She usually does that whenever she doesn't get her way, like a teenager. I'm the one who had to raise _her_ these years. If it hadn't been for the fact that I faked sicknesses and broken limbs to get her home when she wanted to stay out partying all night, I'm sure that I would have many more siblings and a mother who had several DUIs under her belt.

"Why not? It's cute!" I roll my eyes at her.

"Because I'm new to town and I don't want their first impression of me to be me looking like I'm easy. If I wear this, they'll be calling me Autumn Slutlee before first period." Now it's her turn to roll her eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic. You'll have the pantyhose on, and I'll even give you my thigh-high boots."

"Oh dear lord," I breathe. "Mom, the thigh-highs will only make it worse." She sits on the bed with a flop and lets out a breath.

"Autumn, please. I want you to have the senior year I never had. You only get one chance at a first impression, and I want you to do it right. I was popular in school, remember? I know how to act and dress."

"Mom, you grew up in the era of shoulder pads and scrunchies, that does not help."

"You are just like your father, you know that? Impossibly thick headed and frustrating." I give her a tired look. Mom met my father in high school. He was the quarterback and she was the head cheerleader, it was like they were expected to be together. They had had big plans to go to prom and college together where they could build a life. But then my mom got pregnant with me during the summer before her junior and his senior year. When word of her pregnancy got out, all of her friends and practically the whole school turned against her. They called her horrid things and taped up pamphlets to planned parenthood to her locker, accusing her of trying to ruin the life of their star quarterback just as his career was pushing off. And when his parents found out, they forbade him from seeing her.

My grandmother had gone over there, planning to use some of her Asian ass kicking roots—not really Asian, more like her parents were more physical when it comes to solving their problems, but that's how she describes it whenever she tells the story—to demand him to support my mother. But it came out that when my parents were dating, my father's parents didn't think anything of it, passing it off as a normal high school/first love relationship that wouldn't last too long. But they put their foot down when my mom got pregnant. His parents turned out to be extremely racist. They didn't want to have "Asian-looking grandchildren." And even though my mom is only half Chinese, she's clearly Asian. After that my dad wasn't a part of the picture.

"Please," Mom begs. "Just try it on. If you don't like it, you can wear something else." I huff and curse myself for allowing her to talk me into this mess. In fact, if I wasn't for the look of pure desperation on her face, I'd put everything back, slid into my oldest pair of sweats, and crawl into bed and talk with Hannah about the shit Suzie Carmichael does on a daily basis. But I force myself into the outfit and into the thigh-high heeled black boots, hating every second of it, and then look in the mirror.

My breathing stops for a second. Holy shit. I actually look _good_. More than good. The skirt hugs my hips and then floats away from my legs; while my shirt makes my 34C cup cleavage look a lot bigger than they actually are. And not to toot my own horn, I look hot. Like one of those popular girls my mom is always so sure I'll become one day. I nod my head.

"Okay," I admit as I run my hands over the clothing. "I admit that it looks good." Mom smiles, happy that she's right.

"You look hot! You'll make friends in no time! Now sit down." I sit down in my twirling chair and position it so that it's right in front of the full length mirror my mom insisted I get from the flea market. I watch our reflection as Mom brushes my hair. My mother is so beautiful that it hurts. She can get any guy she wants if she puts her mind to it. And although we have the same thick, dark brown hair and high cheekbones, we couldn't be more different. While her eyes are a normal sized, almond-shaped dark brown, my eyes are too large for my face and though they have a little bit of exoticness to them, they're a horrible shade that's mixed between yellow and green and can sometimes look like mud brown, that my mom calls hazel. I'm not saying that I'm ugly, trust me I could have it worse, but I don't think I look gorgeous or anything.

When Mom finishes with my hair, having put it in a half-up half-down style, and I allow her to put some mascara and lip gloss on me, I stand up and take a deep breath. Am I really going to do this? I don't usually go to parties, I'd rather stay in and play Monopoly with Nana and watch as she slowly loses her mind while I win. But I guess I'm doing this for my mom. I know that it hurts her that I only have one friend and have never had any sort of boyfriend. I guess I should really try to make some friends this year. Get myself out there and do things.

Mom and I pile into her old gray Toyota and she pulls out of the driveway. We had agreed that she would drive me and then give me money for a cab ride home. She says that she wants to make sure that, if I choose to drink alcohol tonight, that I don't drive home on my own. Apparently, a kid in her class had died from a drunk driving accident her senior year.

The way to Bryce's house is quiet. I don't feel like talking, very much preferring the silence as I look through the window. Forks, Washington is green. A lot greener than my home town of Las Vegas, Nevada. The trees and grass are a vibrant green that reminds me of a rain forest; and I half-expect to see a jaguar or some sort of other dangerous animal run along side our car. But I only see the occasional flash of tan fur and antlers.

Mom, Nana, and I moved to Forks when Nana retired from her job as a high school principle and it eventually got too expensive to live in Vegas. So, we moved here, knowing that the rent is cheaper and that my mom would be able to easily get a job as a nurse at the hospital. It had been a big change. I had to leave behind Hannah, my best friend since pre-k and the only person who can make me laugh so hard I snort. I had to leave my job as a waitress at Denny's, which, to be honest, isn't that much of a loss. And I had to leave behind my childhood bedroom. The bedroom where I had my first sleep over, my first kiss, my first sprained ankle. The place where I "experimented" with Hannah. It was only one kiss, a kiss that automatically made me pull back in disinterest. Don't get me wrong, Hannah is a beautiful girl—with long blonde hair and narrow brown eyes and freckles—but kissing a girl just felt wrong for me. But at least I know. And leaving my childhood home was sad, but also relieving at the same time.

When Mom pulls up to the house, a two-story traditional house with teenagers pouring in and out of the front door. Red solo cups in their hands, and some of them stumble, obviously drunk despite it only being nine o'clock. Mom turns to me and gives me a reassuring smile.

"You'll be fine," she tells me, running her long fingers through my hair. She used to do this to me when I was little, and I have to admit that I love it.

"Not likely. But I hope so," I sigh. She gives me an exasperated look.

"You're the reason I'm going to die early, kid." I smile at her.

"I love you, too." She hands me the money.

"Forever and always." That was a thing Mom, Nana, and I always said to each other after saying "I love you". It just means a lot to us.

"Make friends!" she yells as I climb out of the car. God, could she be anymore embarrassing? It's already bad enough that she drove me. I don't think people my age have been driven to parties by their parents since middle school. I close the door, and watch as she drives away. Okay. This is it. I turn around and smooth down my clothes one more time.

It's now or never.

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 **A/N: What do you guys think? Should I continue? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	2. The Beginning Part 2

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

I slowly wake up feeling peaceful. You know that in between state when you're not fully awake, but then again, you're not completely asleep either? That how I feel. And it's the best feeling in the world; like laying on a cloud with the most comfortable blanket over you and the air conditioning on full blast. And then the headache hits me. A massive headache and a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I'm about to hurl.

Last night was crazy. I don't remember a lot of it. When I had gotten to the party, at first, I had just stood in the corner of the kitchen, sipping on a red solo cup of beer that tasted better than expected. I was wondering how long I would have to stay in order to keep mom off my back when I got home.

I expect my mom to burst in my room to wake me up and demand to know all the details of the party—if I made any friends, meet any cute boys. And I expect to smell Nana cooking breakfast down stairs. But all I smell is a mixture of stale pretzels, vomit, and shaving cream. Oh no. No, no, no.

I open my eyes, and find that I don't recognize the ceiling, it's popcorn, and my room doesn't have a popcorn ceiling. I look and see that I'm in what looks like a guest room with blue walls and hardwood floors. It looks pretty clean save for the crinkled-up clothing and shoes on the floor. And then I look next to me, and my breathing stops for a second. Next to me is a guy. He's tall and muscular, with tanned skin and short black hair that falls into his eyes. And he looks like he's naked. I look under the blanket at myself, and I, too, am naked. Oh my god. I slept with this rando guy at a fucking stranger's house. I never thought I'd turn into one of those girls.

Those are the girls Hannah and I would talk shit about daily, how they are disrespecting not only themselves, but the person who owns the house. I can't fucking believe this! I remember back to last night. I had become extremely drunk by eleven, having had help from the people I'd met. And I had been trying to find my way to the bathroom because I really had to pee. I was stumbling around, needing the wall to hold me up and trying to avoid bumping into people.

Once I had managed to go pee, I had known that I needed to slow my roll and find Marnie and Jade, but I couldn't find them if my life depended on it. Loud music had been blaring, and I was honestly surprised the neighbors hadn't called the cops.

"Hey!" someone had called out. I found the voice had come from a decent-sized nook at the back of the house. It was a really hot guy. Hotter than any boy in my old school, and I couldn't help myself.

"Hiya," I slurred. A bunch of other guys and girls had been around, some were kissing, some were doing other stuff.

"I haven't seen you here before," he also slurred. He was also very drunk.

"I'm…" why couldn't I remember my own name? That's when I knew I had to quit the beer. It took me a few seconds, but I was finally able to remember. "Autumn Lee. I just moved here."

"Embry Call. I've live here all my life. Well not right here, but in La Push, the reservation."

I'm not gonna force you to go through the rest. Let's just say that I embarrassed myself a lot by singing—even though my mom says I have a beautiful singing voice, it's still embarrassing—and dancing on top of the trashed coffee table. Then all of a sudden, Embry and I were making out. And then one thing led to another and we'd somehow made it up to this room, I guess.

I sigh and rub my throbbing temples. I need to get home; Mom and Nana must be worried sick. I slowly climb out of the bed, wanting to avoid that awkwardness, and search the floor for my clothing. My pantyhose is destroyed, and figure that this Embry guy must like it rough to have ripped it off of me, and decide to just leave it. But I pull on my undergarments, shirt, skirt, and boots and find my cell phone on the floor. I have nine missed calls and several text messages from my mom and Nana. I shoot them a quick text, telling them that I'm fine and headed home now and that I'd explain later.

I rummage through my pockets and find the cash Mom gave me. At least I have a way home. I call a cab and walk through a house filled with empty cups, beer cans, and chip bags and the smell of cigarettes and body odor. Several people lay unconscious on the floors or couches or under tables. It's truly amazing at how so many people could just pass out in a stranger's house, including me.

The cab ride is short and smells of oranges and black coffee. The old man behind the wheel is a friendly grandfather type with age spots and wrinkles. When he drops me off in front of my house, I pay him, and get out of the car. Okay, time to face the aftermath.

The inside of the house is quiet, like everyone is asleep or something, which is surprising. Even though it's only six-thirty, Nana's always been an early riser and Mom has work. I wander through the house, looking at everything. The light brown hallways that are lined with my baby and school pictures as well as pictures of Nana and Mom when they were young. Pictures of our one trip to Disneyland when Mom dated that rich business guy when I was twelve. Our trips to the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. The living room is neat, the cloth couch sits against one wall, while an armchair sits next to it in front of a window with an end table in between them. A sleek coffee table sits in the middle of the room on a rug, and a white wooden entertainment console sits with a tv on it as well as the cable and internet boxes. Everything in the room is light colored and bright, just how Mom likes it. I find a note on the kitchen counter in Nana's handwriting.

 _Autumn_ , it reads.

 _I don't know if you'll even read this since you won't even answer our texts, but if you come home and I'm not here, just wait until I get back so that I can talk to you. I went to coffee with a man I met at my bingo game last night. I shouldn't be too long._

 _Nana_

I sigh loudly. I guess I have that to look forward to. I know that I shouldn't have gotten as drunk as I did, or slept with that guy and then fell asleep. But I didn't even want to go in the first place, so it's partly Mom's fault. I leave the kitchen and make my way upstairs where I kick off the boots in my room and wander into the bathroom. I strip out of my clothes and jump into the shower, letting the hot water run over my skin and wash away any trace of that guy. I can't believe I lost my virginity to some guy I don't know. I mean, I was never going to deliberately save myself until marriage, but I was hoping to at least wait until I was with someone I cared about. Whatever. There's nothing I can do about it now.

I take my time in the shower, and when I'm done I wrap myself in a towel and make my way to my room where Nana is sitting on my bed, waiting for me. We look at each other for a moment, neither of us know what to say.

"I'm not angry," she finally reveals. I let out a sigh of relief. I move over to my dresser and pull out some yoga pants and a gray sweatshirt as well as a bra and underwear. "I just want to know what happened last night." I sigh.

"I got drunk for the first time ever. And then I fell asleep before I could call you guys." I get dressed and then sit down on the bed next to her and allow her to towel dry my hair.

"Look, I've already talked to your mother about it. And we both agreed that since you've always been a good girl and since this is the first and only time you've ever done something like this, that we'll let you off with a warning. We're not mad, like I said. We were just worried sick about you all night." I nod as she picks up my brush and starts to untangle my hair.

"I know. I didn't mean to make you two worry. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Did you not mean to get drunk?" She's becoming a little salty, but I can understand it.

"No. I met these girls at the party. Marnie and Jade. And they just kept handing me beer after beer and I kept drinking because I wanted to seem cool. And I thought that if I didn't, Mom would be disappointed that I didn't have more fun." Nana sighs as she finishes with my hair. I turn back to face her. Her face is sincere as she looks at me.

"I know your mom can be a little too much. Trust me, I raised her. And even though she's made some choices that weren't ideal, she means the best. I think that she acts the way she acts because she had to grow up too fast when she had you." She holds up her hands. "And I'm not in anyway saying that it's your fault that she's had trouble being mature, but can you see why?" I nod. I've always understood why. "I love the both of you more than my own life. And I just want the best for you both. So please, in your quest to be more adventurous, try not to make the same mistakes as your mom. I don't want you to end up in the same situation as her." She means she doesn't want me to end up a pregnant teenager.

"I promise."

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 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	3. 10 Weeks 2 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

"Can you please tell us what you're dressing up as for Halloween?" Marnie asks as we walk into the locker room for the gym. I snort as I spin the dial on the lock for my locker.

"The last time I told you two something, you wouldn't leave me alone for two weeks," I say. I kick off my shoes and my friends do the same. Marnie tugs her mousey brown hair into a messy bun.

"To be fair, it was a really big milestone for you!" I give her a look.

"You guys are talking like you've known me for my entire life. We only met two months ago."

"That's how you know the friendship is real!" Jade exclaims. I slip the school provided ugly yellow t-shirt over my head.

"And," Marnie continues, "any girl will agree. Losing your virginity is a big deal!" Some of the girls around us shoot looks over at us, questioning our conversation. I swat at Marnie, annoyed.

"Can you say that any louder!" I hiss. "I don't think my great-grand parents heard you from their graves in China!" Marnie shoots me an apologetic look.

"Sorry. But still! Just tell us what you're going as! This is the last year we're allowed to go out trick or treating before it becomes weird." I roll my eyes and reach for my horrible blue gym shorts.

"Fine! I'm going as a zombie bride. I get to wear my mom's wedding dress." Jade furrows her eyebrows.

"I thought your mom never got married," she questions. I sigh.

"I used to live in Vegas. My mom dated this guy for a week and then they got drunk one night and were married by a Cher impersonator." I shake my head. "They had it annulled and were un-married a month later. My mom has sworn my grandma and I to secrecy and we haven't talked about it since." I slip into the gym shorts, but I find that they are way too tight around the waist. I had noticed that they were getting tighter over the weeks, but I didn't want to admit that I was gaining weight. I need to lay off the ramen noodles that Nana makes me after school.

"Hey Jade? Do you have an extra pair of shorts I can borrow? Mine don't seem to fit," I ask. Jade frowns, and I can honestly say that only she can make frowning look attractive. Her brown skin is flawless, her wide dark eyes literally sparkle, and her lips are full.

"You're in luck, my mom just did laundry." She hands me her shorts. I'm originally a size six while Jade is a size ten. I slip into her pants, and they're a little loose, but otherwise they're fine to wear.

"Do you need my extra shirt, too?" Jade asks. I frown and look down to where she's looking. My shirt is an inch too short.

"I don't want to sound rude or anything," Marnie starts, "and I wasn't going to say anything about the weight gain because, ya know, it happens to the best of us. But I swear your boobs have grown at least two cup sizes in the last two months." I move my bra around a little, thankful that the rest of the class has already made their way out to the gym.

"They've been really sore lately, too," I tell them. "I swear I almost came to school without a bra today." I happily accept Jade's extra shirt, slip my sneakers on, and close my locker. When I turn around, I see Marnie eyeing me.

"What?" I exclaim. Her pale face seems a little more pale than usual.

"Autumn, when was your last period?" she questions me. I frown.

"Why?" She gives me a look, and it only takes me a second to catch on to what she's hinting at.

"No. It's not possible."

"Isn't it? When was your last period?"

"That won't help."

"Autumn!"

"It was August twentieth. But my periods have always been really irregular. Sometimes I'll go a month without even getting it." I'm trying to convince myself now.

"Well…" Jade begins, "did you and Embry use protection?" I try to think back, but come up blank.

"I can't remember. It was all such a blur." The two of them share a look.

"The fact that you can't remember most likely means that no protection was used," Marnie tells me. I start hyperventilating and sit down on the bench. This can't be happening. This cannot be happening. Marnie takes a deep breath.

"Okay, how about this? Since gym is our last class for the day, why don't we skip and go to Rite Aid to pick up a few tests." I'm shaking and can't answer, so Marnie and Jade help me into my street clothes and get dressed themselves. Then they help me sneak out of the building and to Jade's car. I don't remember the car ride to the pharmacy, but when we get there, we get two types of tests. One with the smiley or frowny face and another that'll tell you yes or no as well as how many weeks you are.

When we finally make our way to Marnie's house I've managed to calm down a little, but I swear my heart is still racing. I wish I could twirl around in my spinning chair, that always calms me down.

Marnie's house is empty, she tells Jade and I that her parents are at work and her twin brothers are at school, so we have the house to ourselves. We make our way up to her room, and I raise my eyebrows in question. Her walls are painted a dark red with messy black writing all over. It looks like quotes that could have come from Hades himself. There are band posters all over and clothes strewn over the floors on her computer chair. Empty cups and chip bags litter her nightstand and desk.

"Oh my god, Marnie," I breathe as I step over a stray shoe. She kicks away a dirty bra.

"Yeah, I'm not the cleanest person you'll ever meet," she tells me.

"And the paint?"

"I went through a goth phase in eighth grade and never changed the paint back to a normal color." She shakes her head. "But my room in not important. What's important is that you go take these tests. Did you drink the Gatorade we got you?" I nod.

"I don't think I'll need to eat ever again, I'm so full. That thing was huge, and I really need to pee."

"That's the point!" Jade says, shoving the tests at me. "Now go!"

"The bathroom is the second door on the right," Marnie tells me. I make my way to the bathroom, pee on the sticks and wash my hands. When I finish, as I wait, I lean on the sink and force myself to take deep breathes to stay calm.

What will I do if I am pregnant? I'm only seventeen-years-old with no job, no idea what I want to do after high school. I have nothing.

Time's up. It's now or never. I look at the first test. My heart sinks as I spot a clear smiley face on the screen. My heart is thundering against my chest as I pick up the second one, already knowing what it's going to say. _Pregnant, 10+ Weeks._

Feeling numb, I take the tests back to Marnie's room, and the look on my face tells them everything. I break down crying as they wrap their arms around me, muttering reassuring words to me.

"I'm so sorry, Autumn," Jade whispers as she rubs my hair.

"It's gonna be okay," Marnie tells me. I appreciate them trying to help, but it doesn't. I pull back.

"No, it's not gonna be okay," I cry. "You don't understand, I've done everything I could to not end up pregnant at a young age like my mom. I've only ever had one friend my entire life, I study twice as hard as everyone else, I never go out to parties or on dates. And the one time I do, I get pregnant?"

"I know that you don't want to hear this," Jade says, "but statistics show that twenty percent of girls born to teen moms are more likely to become young mothers themselves." I give her a look. "I'm just saying. But you don't have to have a baby." I look at her.

"What?" I ask. She shrugs.

"You don't have to have a baby. There's still time to… ya know." Marnie gasps.

"Jade! You don't mean that!" she exclaims. Jade shrugs.

"Look, my big sister was in the same situation as you a few years ago. She was nineteen and had gotten pregnant. And it was a hard choice for her, but she chose to terminate the pregnancy. And it turns out that that was the best decision for her. She's now studying at Yale to get her master's degree. She never would have been able to do that if she had had a baby."

"Maybe you're right," I tell her.

"Autumn, I don't want to tell you what to do. This is your decision, but I don't think it's a good idea. Abortion is just wrong. And it's not a religious thing for me at all. It's just how I look at this situation." Jade shakes her head.

"Whatever the decision, it's yours to make. Nobody can make it for you."

I think about that the entire time I'm at Marnie's house, and on the way back to school to grab my car. I think about it on the drive home, when I arrive home to be greeted by Nana and Mom who are all smiling and laughter. When Mom sees my face, though, she stops mixing the bowl of brownie batter, her mouth opening in worry. Nana does the same thing.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Mom asks as I throw my book bag to the ground. And as soon as I open my mouth—planning to tell them that I just got a bad grade on a test—I burst into tears. They rush over to me and envelope me in hugs. They drag me over to the couch and sit on either side of me. And as I'm enveloped in all of their love, I find myself afraid to tell them.

Mom and Nana both wanted a different future for me. One that saw me going to college and getting a great career and traveling the world before I settled down to have a family. It's going to break their hearts when they find out. I haven't graduated high school let alone college, and the only time I've ever went out of the country is when I was thirteen and we found out that Nana's parents had passed away within hours of each other; and Mom forced Nana to get over whatever grudge she held against them and we all went to China.

But on my ride home, I decided on what I'm going to do. Which is why I'm telling them.

"I'm pregnant," I gasp out in between sobs. Both women freeze in surprise. I can tell that that's not what they were expecting me to say.

"When did this happen?" Mom asks as she looks me over.

"During that party you talked me into going to. It's the only time I've ever had sex."

"I can't believe you're pregnant," Nana mutters. I pull out the pregnancy tests.

"Well believe it. It's true." I pause, taking a deep breath before saying what I say next. "I think I want an abortion." Nana, hearing this, makes a sound in the back of her throat and stands up and leaves. I hate seeing her disappointed at me. It's the worst feeling in the world like when you think you did good on a test but then the teacher hands it back to you folded up and you know you failed.

"Let's make you some hot chocolate," Mom whispers. She helps me over to the kitchen table and makes two mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Mine has one large marshmallow instead of the mini ones because Mom knows that I hate mini marshmallows.

"How are you so calm?" I ask her as she takes a seat across from me. She shrugs.

"I was in your position before, remember? I know what it's like to be on your side, and I know how horrible and worthless I felt when your Nana yelled at me when I told her." I raise my eyebrows.

"I never knew that," I say.

"Nana asked me to keep it a secret because she didn't want you to look at her differently. She obviously got over it and we made up. But it still hurt at the time."

"When you were sixteen, and you found out that you were pregnant with me… did you ever consider getting an abortion?" She thinks about it for a moment, scrunching her mouth up.

"No. It did cross my mind for a second, but I never seriously considered it. I knew that I wanted you from the very beginning."

"So do you think that I should get one?"

"That's up to you, sweetie. It's your body and your conscious that you'll have to live with. Don't do anything that you'll regret for the rest of your life."

"But how do I know that it's the right choice for me?" Mom sighs.

"Let me share a secret with you, Autumn. Something that not even your grandmother knows." I stare at her, waiting. "You know that business guy I was dating? Hank?" I nod. "I told you the reason why we broke up was because he didn't want to settle down. But it's really because I got pregnant." I gasp. "Let me finish." She smiles a little, but it disappears as soon as it appears. "I got pregnant, and he wanted to keep the baby and I didn't. He tried to guilt me into keeping it, tried to force me to. But I knew that you'd be my only baby, Autumn. I was happy with the daughter I had, and I didn't want any more kids. And so I got an abortion behind his back, and he broke up with me when he found out."

"I'm so sorry." She shakes her head.

"He was an ass. Had no respect for me and what I wanted. But I knew that it was the right decision for me." I look at her.

"I know that the reason for me wanting to end the pregnancy is so selfish," I tell her. "But I'm only seventeen! I haven't got a high school diploma or a college degree or a job. We have no money and no room in the house. I want to be able to take care of a child before I have one. And I can't take care or afford one. And I know that this is gonna sound mean, but I don't want my life to end up like yours." She winces a little.

"That's fair," she says.

"I know that you love me," I go on, "but in a lot of ways, I derailed your life. You said that you wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic. But you were never able to do it because of me. I don't want my child to ever feel like that." Mom nods.

"Okay. I'll bring you to the clinic tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mom. But aren't you going to punish me?" She looks at me.

"What you're going through right now? What you're feeling? That's punishment enough. Trust me, I know." She sighs. "Are you going to tell the father?" I shake my head.

"No. I don't want him to know since this will all be over soon, anyway."

"Okay. Now go upstairs, take a warm shower, and do your homework. I'll call you when dinner's ready." I nod, grab my book bag, and head upstairs. But as I climb the stairs, I hear the unmistakable sound of a sob, and my heart breaks. The last this I want is to do this to my mom. She doesn't deserve it. Hopefully, when this is all over, I'll be able to start making it up to her. I'll go to college and get an amazing job. I'll make sure that everything that she never did because of me wasn't taken for granted.

Now I just have to wait.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Now, I've never been in this type of situation, so I don't know exactly how a girl in the situation would react or how parents would react. But I did the best I could. Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	4. 10 Weeks 3 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

Nana still isn't talking to me the next day. I wake up to a storm outside. It's pouring rain and I hear thunder in the background, exactly what I need today of all days. I can see my Halloween costume hanging in my closet—I had been too upset to go out last night. I didn't even feel like eating dinner. Thinking of my mother's usually delicious tacos made me gag.

I lay in bed longer than I need to. I just can't get my heart to stop racing. I'm going to get an abortion today. Ugh, I hate even saying it. The word is so… nasty. Never in my life have I ever considered myself someone who'd choose to have an abortion. But here I am. I'm scared, if I'm being honest. Not about the procedure, but about how I'll feel after it happens. I'm afraid that I'll feel depressed and not myself. But I have to get it done.

I get up, get dressed in comfortable clothes and just throw my hair up into a messy ponytail, and make my way downstairs. Mom is allowing me to stay home from school today, and for that, I'm grateful. When I get downstairs, can hear her talking to someone.

"Hi, this is Angela Lee, I'm calling in to tell you that my daughter Autumn Lee is going to be missing school for the next two days… there's a family emergency… someone passed away and we need a few days to mourn… yes, a family member, what difference does it make? Thank you." I hear her hanging up the phone and sigh.

"Angie," Nana starts. "I really don't think you should be encouraging this." I frown, confused.

"Encouraging what?" Mom asks.

"You know how I feel about abortion-"

"Mom, we already talked about this," Mom snaps. "It's not your decision, and it's not my decision. We have to respect that."

"But you're her mother, you could talk her out of it." Mom doesn't say anything to that, but I can imagine her giving Nana a nasty look. "Look, I love Autumn with all my heart. And I know deep down that she didn't mean for this to happen, just like you didn't. But I don't think that this is the right way to handle this situation."

"As apposed to what, Mom? I'm not going to force her to have a baby that she doesn't want. She's not me, okay? You got lucky that I wanted to keep Autumn, so you didn't have to worry. But she's her own person, and she's under no obligation to go through with the pregnancy." I sit on the bottom step as I listen, my heart racing.

"Isn't it bad enough that you're not punishing her for having sex in the first place?" Nana is getting angry at this point.

"Sex isn't something that you should be punished for! It's a completely natural thing that you should never feel wrong for doing."

"But she obviously didn't use protection, are you going to just let that go?"

"Newsflash, Mom, condoms and birth control aren't one hundred percent effective. You could get pregnant even when you're using both. It's happened before." They both go quiet.

"You never told me that."

"I didn't think it was relevant. You had already formed the conclusion that I was careless and didn't use any protection, and I was already pregnant, so I didn't see the point." Nana sighs.

"Look, I still think you should punish her," Nana whispers.

"What she's about to do today? That's punishment enough. It changes you. And please don't ask how I know."

"But-"

"Mom, I love you, and I respect you. But like you said, Autumn is my daughter, so that means that I get to make the decisions where she's concerned. Do you understand?" I hear Nana take a deep breath. I can tell that she's annoyed with having her own words thrown back at her, but she doesn't say so.

"I understand." I hate seeing them fight over something that I did. It makes me want to throw up and hide in my room at the same time. At that moment, I decide that it's time for me to reveal myself. I make my way to the kitchen to find Mom sitting at the small kitchen table, sipping coffee and on her laptop. When I walk in, she gives me a warm smile.

"So what time are we going?" I ask. She looks at the time on the screen.

"In twenty minutes. You should eat something." I scrunch up my nose and shake my head.

"I'm not hungry. I'm too anxious." She gives me a look but doesn't say anything else, and I go to the living room to sit down.

I wish I could talk to Hannah. She'd know exactly what to say to make me feel better. But I don't want to bring her into this until I've gone through with the abortion. If I were to call her right now, then I'd totally start bawling and spilling my spineless guts to her, and I'd miss the appointment. But I'm definitely going to be telling her about this. She's like the sister I never had, and we tell each other everything.

Soon enough, Mom and I are in her car and on our way to Planned Parenthood in Port Angeles. On the way, I manage to calm myself down a little bit, and by the time we arrive, I've managed to completely control my breathing.

What happens next is boring. We check in, do a shit load of paperwork, and then wait thirty minutes in the waiting room before we're called back. They ask me all sorts of questions. When was my last period? When did I last have intercourse?

After that they take a blood sample which almost makes me pass out. I hate needles, and the anticipation before you get a shot is the worst feeling. Then I'm ushered to a bathroom where I'm instructed to pee in a cup and then leave it on the counter, and then we wait for however long in the waiting room while the people do tests to make sure I'm pregnant. While they do that, I speak with a kind woman in a private room without my mom. Her name is Grace, she's in her mid-twenties and has long blonde hair and kind blue eyes and overall has the kind of face that could comfort someone within two seconds.

"So, tell me what you're thinking right now," she says in a soft voice. I sigh and bite my lip.

"Well, I'm very nervous. I've never had this done before, and I'm not sure what to expect," I tell her.

"Well, the process takes around five to ten minutes." And then she goes into detail on what happens during the abortion, and I have to say that knowing what's going to happen calms me a little.

"Now I want to talk to you about your options." I frown.

"What about them?"

"Abortion, while there's nothing wrong with it, is a serious medical procedure. And it can seriously affect you afterwards, and so I want to make sure that you are doing this because you want to."

"I don't—I can't afford a baby. And I'm not ready for one." I sigh. "My mom was a teen mother. She had me when she was sixteen, and her life hasn't been what it could have. If she hadn't had me, she would have had an amazing life. She wouldn't still be living with my grandmother, and she would be a photographer and would have been able to travel the world. I don't want that to happen to me."

"That's completely understandable. But have you considered adoption?"

"Honestly? No. I guess that I'm not sure if I would give the baby up for adoption, I don't know how I'd feel about it. To just… have my baby out there somewhere, not knowing if they were being taken care of and loved and happy. And… I live in Forks. And ya know, it's a really small town and if I continue with the pregnancy, even if I gave it up for adoption, people would be talking about me. And you know how it is for pregnant girls in high school. People seem to blame the girl while they coddle the guy. They make her feel horrible, like a slut, like she's… worthless. You see it all the time in movies and tv shows."

"I know, but let's not let what others will say determine what you will do. Because what you're considering, it's very life changing, especially at a young age. And my job is to make sure that you really want to do this, because once it's done, it's done, there's no going back. And I want to make sure that you're doing it for the right reasons."

It takes me ten minutes to finally convince Grace that I'm doing this because I want to, even though I'm not completely sure if I want to, and I'm finally called back to one of the rooms.

"Miss Lee," Dr. Hanson says as he comes into the room Mom and I are in. He's a nice man in his early fifties with graying brown hair and kind hazel eyes. He sits down in the spinning chair that I envy with a clipboard in his hand.

"So," he continues. "The tests have come back positive, and we can now definitely say that you are pregnant. Has Grace spoken to you about the process of an abortion?" I nod.

"Yes, she explained it to me in clear detail," I tell him.

"Okay, now before we do anything else, I'd like to perform an ultrasound on you." I frown and my heart races. An ultrasound will just make it worse.

"Why do you need to do that if I'm going to terminate the pregnancy?" I ask hurriedly. I'm losing my nerve with each passing second.

"Well, there are a lot of reasons. I need to see how far along you are, for one. The procedures for abortions in the first and second trimesters are very different, so I have to make sure that I'm performing the correct one that is needed. Also, I need to see if the pregnancy is viable. Say, for example, I find that the pregnancy is ectopic, which means that the fertilized egg attached itself in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus; that would be very serious and far passed my realm of capabilities to deal with here at Planned Parenthood, and you'd have to be taken to the emergency room. So you see? It's very important that I do an ultrasound, especially since you haven't had one before coming here." I nod in understanding. He makes a good argument, so I guess I'll just have to deal with this and get it over with.

Mom squeezes my hand. "You'll be fine," she reassures me. So I wait while they set up the equipment, and then I pull up my shirt and flinch a little as the gel hits my abdomen. Dr. Hansen puts the wand on my stomach and moves it around a little and a moment later an image pops up on the screen. A soft thumping sound fills the room, and the image I'm seeing sends my heart fluttering. A small shape is in the middle of the screen. It kind of looks like a baby, but then it also kind of looks like a small alien. But I find myself weirdly drawn to that alien. It's like, I want to protect it, to keep it safe and never let any harm come to it. I look at Dr. Hanson.

"What's that thumping sound?" I question him. His gaze is still intently drawn to the screen, but he answers.

"That's the heartbeat." My mouth goes dry and a knot ties itself in my stomach.

"The heartbeat?"

"Yeah. The fetus's heart starts to beat roughly twenty-two days after it's conceived. But usually it can't be detected in a sonogram until about six or seven weeks. And judging by the size of the fetus and the dates you gave me about your last period and the last time you had intercourse, I'd say that you're about ten weeks along. Ten weeks and three days if you want to get specific." Mom rubs my arm.

"Are you okay?" she asks worriedly. I can't even imagine the look on my face right now. It must be terrifying. Even Dr. Hansen senses that I'm about to have a breakdown because he freezes the image, puts the wand down, and takes his gloves off. He hands me a napkin and stands up.

"I'll give you guys some time to talk. I'll be back in ten minutes and you can tell me if you still want to go through with the termination." Once he leaves, I burst out crying for the second time in under twenty-four hours. And it's one of those ugly cries. My face becomes red, my neck turns all blotchy and wet and sticky. The tears roll down my cheeks like hot water.

And even though I know that I'll feel horrible after I'm done, and that crying won't fix anything, I allow myself to do it. I allow myself to be wrapped into my mom's arms as she comforts me. And for a good three minutes, I allow myself to be a little girl again. A little girl throwing a tantrum because she was told that she has to wear braces even though Toby Mullinax told her that it was really painful and worse than having to eat the hot lunch at school.

And after, when I'm all cried out, I wipe away the tears and the gross gel on my stomach, and I sit up and take a deep breath to calm my breathing. Mom gets a paper towel and wets it at the small sink in the room and starts to wipe my face.

"What are you thinking?" she asks me as she sits down next to me. I sigh and shake my head and look at her through teary eyes.

"It has a heartbeat," I say and bite my lip. "I didn't really think about that when I decided this."

"I know."

"I think that before now, I was just thinking of this as something that really sucks, but that can easily be fixed. But now…" Tears fill my eyes again and I bite back the urge to cry. "Now I know that this is real. There's a little person inside of me right now, and it has a heartbeat!"

"So you're not going through with the abortion." It's not a question, it's a statement. I shake my head.

"But what will I do if I don't? There's no room in our house for a baby. And we don't have the money."

"Have you thought about adoption?" I shake my head again.

"I don't know if adoption is right for me. How can I live while knowing that my baby is out there somewhere, and not being able to know if they are safe and healthy and happy?"

"There's always open adoption. Some couples who adopt agree with the birth parents that you can exchange picutes and letters a few times a year. And some adoptive parents may be willing to have you visit a couple of times a year." I'm still undecided about everything. This is all too much too fast.

"Look," Mom continues, "you don't have to decide right this second, you have time. But whatever you decide to do, you have to tell the father. Now that you've decide to go through with the pregnancy, he has to know."

"Do I have to?" I complain. She gives me a look.

"Yes! It's his baby too, and if you do decide to place the baby up for adoption, then you have to have his signature. And even if you don't decide on adoption, he's going to have to step up and help you with the expenses and childcare that it takes to raise a baby. And you know that Nana and I will do whatever we can to help you, but the father needs to the the main person who helps you both financially and physically raise this baby. You two made that baby together, and now it's going to expect the both of you to be there." I sigh and nod. She's right. I'm still not sure if I want to keep the baby or place it up for adoption, but either way, Embry needs to know. With how close our already too small towns are to each other, he's bound to find out that I'm pregnant, and then he'll probably put two and two together.

"Okay," I agree with her. When the doctor comes back, I tell him my decision and he kindly tells me that everything will turn out the way it's supposed to, and then writes me a perscriptioin for prenatal vitimins.

On our way back home, Mom and I stop at a fast food place since I'm starving, and we fill up on all the greasy food and sugary soda we can hold—Mom told me that this is not going to be an everyday occurrence, that I need to eat healthy for the baby, but that she wanted to treat me to fast food since I went through a lot of hard feelings and made a hard decision today. Then we drop off the prescription and head home where we find that Nana had went out on another date with that bingo guy—they have been dating for a couple now and even though I wish I could talk to her, I'm glad she's putting herself out there and having fun—and wont be back for the rest of the day. So I go to my room and take out my cell phone and call Hannah. She picks up on the third ring.

"Autumn!" she exclaims in the raspy voice of hers that I've always loved. "You'll never guess! I had the craziest week ever!" I give a small laugh, happy to hear her enthusiasm.

"Wanna bet?"

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	5. 11 Weeks

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

 **A/N: Please go check out my Pinterest account under the name G Reader1 for the pictures for this story. I imagine Kelli Berglund as Marnie and Amandla Stenberg as Jade.**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V.

The fact that I didn't go through with the abortion has seemed to calm Nana down a bit. Don't get me wrong, she's still mad at me, and not speaking to me, but she has stopped avoiding me and even tells me good morning, but nothing more than that. I mean, I know that I disappointed her, but it's been days since she found out, and she won't even have a full conversation with me. She's being childish, and Mom agrees; but Mom said to just let Nana finish her tantrum and then she'll talk to me. And I have no choice but to listen to her. I'm not going to force Nana to talk to me, she's going to have to do it herself.

The entire weekend has really made my nerves spiral out of control. Mom gave me the weekend to allow myself to come to terms with all of this. But I have to tell Embry today, after school, and I'm so nervous I'm sick to my stomach. I don't even know this guy, and now I have to tell him that I'm pregnant with his baby, and that I'm keeping it.

And there are those three little words: I'm keeping it. I had talked it over with Mom, and I've come to the decision that I'm going to keep the baby. I won't be able to live my life knowing that my child is out in the world somewhere. That they wouldn't know me or my family, and that I wouldn't know if they were happy and safe. And even with an open adoption, the child wouldn't be calling me "Mom" and I wouldn't have much to do with their life. So I'm kipping him or her and I'm going to have to count that Embry will help me out, and if not him, then Mom and Nana.

Throughout the school day, Marnie and Jade bug me nonstop about my "situation", and I finally have to drag them to the empty bathroom and explain it to them.

"So you're keeping it?" Jade asks quietly, as if someone is going to overhear us. I sigh and nod my head.

"I couldn't go through with the abortion. I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself if I did," I admit.

"That's okay," Marnie reassures me. "It gonna be okay."

"How? I'm having the baby of a guy a don't even know. And I have no money and no job and no room in my house."

"Hey!" Jade scolds. "It's not just his baby. It's your baby, too. Marnie and I will help you find a job, so you can save money. And I'm great at DIY, so I can help you create cute baby stuff."

"Plus, my dad owns this apartment complex five minutes from here. He was raised by a single mother of five kids, and so he makes the rent as cheep as he possibly can so that single mothers or teens straight out of high school can live there. I'm sure he'd allow you to live there." I look at them in sock. I can't believe that they're doing this for me.

"You'd really do that?" I ask them, trying to hold back tears. They both nod.

"I feel like, if my sister had had this kind of support from the time that she found out that she was pregnant, then she wouldn't have had the abortion. And I know that if I was in your situation, I'd want someone to help me out." I smile at them.

"Thank you. Right now I just have to focus on keeping the baby healthy, and figure out how I'm going to tell Embry." My friends groan.

"I wish you didn't have to tell him," Marnie says.

"I know, but my mom said I have to. Plus, it's the right thing to do since it's his baby, too. And he has to help me out… ya know, financially."

"True. You'll need all the financial help you can get," Jade sighs. "Babies are expensive. But I want to see your belly." I frown.

"Why?" When I was Googling pregnancy, I heard stories of everyone not caring about the actual pregnant person, but only about what's growing inside her uterus.

"Just lift up your shirt!" she demands. I roll my eyes almost into the back of my head, but lift up my shirt and turn so that Marnie and Jade see the side of my stomach. "Good, you're not showing yet."

"Well, if you look really close, you can see the tiniest bump in between her hips," Marnie cuts in. "But yeah, you still should be able to wear plain t-shirts and stuff without anybody knowing. You want to keep this a secret from the school for a little while. At least until you become so big that you won't be able to hide it anymore. So maybe you'll be able to make it to mid-February?"

"That's just great. My due date isn't until the end of May. So I'll have to go through three months of people knowing and staring at me." Jade grimaces.

"I know, but you'll have us to protect you, and then if you want, you can move away, and you won't have to see anybody who went to this school ever again."

"I know, but I really don't want it to come to that. My mom and grandma live here, and I don't want to have to avoid this place once the baby is born."

"You don't have to," Jade tells me. "Who cares what they think of you? Your birthday's in March, right?" I nod. "Well, you'll be eighteen when the kid is born, so that means you're an adult. It's not like you'll be thirteen with a kid."

"Eighteen is still really young," I say. "And how will I go to college?"

"You can take online classes until the kid is old enough for pre-school." I shake my head as the final bell rings. Time to track down Embry and tell him.

"Maybe. But right now I have to go. I'll see you guys later." I wave goodbye as I walk out of the bathroom and make my way to my car.

I'm not exactly sure where to look for Embry since I don't know him or where he hangs out. But Forks and La Push are so small that it can't be _that_ hard. I text Jade, hoping that she'll have some idea.

 _Try First Beach in La Push,_ she texts back. _They're always hanging out over there for some reason._

So that's how I find myself sitting in the parking lot in front of the beach, looking out at the sun which is high in the sky and is just starting to set. I take deep breaths and try to get my anxiety under control. Just the thought of telling Embry is making me sick. What if he denies that we had sex, and denies that the baby is his? What if he humiliates me? What if he doesn't want to help out and I have to do this on my own? A thousand thoughts run through my mind, but I suck it up and climb out of the car.

Once my feet hit the sand, I look around to see if I see anybody. A second later, I spot some guys on the sand playing around with a football. They look like they're having fun while a couple girls sit on the sand with two little girls, talking and smiling. I spot Embry along side the girls, looking like he's trying to take a nap even though it's four in the afternoon. I know that I have to do it, though, so I put on my big girl panties, and make my way over there.

When I get over there the women look up at me curiously.

"Hi, can I help you?!" one woman with scars running down her face asks brightly as she hands some crackers to the four-year-old girl. I swallow my fear.

"Can I talk to Embry alone, for a second?" When he hears his name, Embry's eyes fly open as he sits up and looks at me. And when he sees who I am, he smiles widely.

"Aubrey!" he exclaims. I deflate a little, but I won't let it stop me.

"It's Autumn," I correct him. "I really need to talk to you."

"Go ahead!" I look at the girls, as they eye us with curiosity.

"Alone?" He frowns, clearly confused.

"Why? These are my friends! Anything you need to say, you can say in front of them." I give a humorless laugh as the other guys finish their game and come over to sit with us, laughing.

"You completely cheated, Jared!" one guy says. "There's no way that you can go from sucking at football to being amazing at it within a week!"

"What can I say?" Jared laughs. "I excel at everything I do, Quil."

"Yeah, I bet you do!" a different guy cuts in, wiggling his eyebrows. Jared's cheeks fill with color.

"Shut up, Paul." Paul laughs loudly.

"Trust me," I tell Embry. "This isn't something that I want to say in front of people I don't know. And when you know, you'll feel the same way." Embry's friends stop talking when they notice me. Some of them are now snuggling with a few of the girls, and Quil is helping the four-year-old fill a bucket with sand.

"Who's this, Embry?" Paul asks.

"Guys, this is Autumn. She a girl I met at the party," Embry tells them.

"Wait, is she the girl you slept with?" Jared asks. My eyes narrow and I whirl on Embry in rage.

"You told them?!" I hiss. I can't believe the balls on this guy. "Why do guys feel the need to brag about their sexual escapades to their friends? It's disgusting."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to tell them," Embry apologizes. I scoff.

"You didn't mean to tell them? Did they read your mind or something? Is that how they found out? Because that's the only explination that I'll accept." Embry becomes annoyed, then, though I'm not sure why. He's not the one who—you know what? Whatever. I just want to tell him already so that I can get this over with.

"Relax, okay? It's not like they spare any detail of their sex lives so they're in no place to judge." I make a disgusted face.

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"Well, what do you want me to say? I can't take it back." He laughs without humor. "Why are you so moody? Are you on your period or something?" I press my lips tightly together. I guess that's my cue.

"No, I'm not on my period," I tell him. I reach into my back pocket and pull out one of the sonogram pictures that Dr. Hanson printed for me. "I'm pregnant." I throw the picture at him and it lands on the sand in front of him. "You're the father."

Everyone goes deadly quiet at that moment, and I swear the only sound I can hear is the ocean waves hitting the shore. And Embry… well, he's gone pale white. And he seems frozen in place, like he can't get what I said through his thick skull. But I don't think my heart can take it if I stand here for one more second, so I take a deep breath.

"I told you that you'd want me to tell you alone," I tell Embry. "My number is on a sticky note on the back of the picture. Feel free to call me." Okay, Autumn, you're moving on to business call territory, get out of there before you pass out. I turn around and begin walking away towards my car.

Okay, I did it. I told Embry. Now I won't have that hanging over my head anymore; and most importantly, Mom won't bug me about it anymore.

I kind of expect Embry to come after me. To ask me if it's true. To ask me what we're going to do. But he doesn't. I make it all the way back to my car, and just before I climb back in, I look over at the group, and see that none of them have moved, but I think that they might be talking to each other. And I hate that they're talking about me when they don't even know me, but maybe those people are Embry's support system, like my mom and Nana are mine. I have to remember that Embry's entire life has also changed and that he's going to need some time. So that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go home, take a shower, and then lay in bed while reading one of my favorite books, and give him time.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	6. 11 Weeks 1 Day

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

The next night I'm eating Chinese food with my mom while watching _Spongebob Squarepants_ when my cell phone rings. I look at the phone number on the screen, and find that I don't recognize the phone number. But even though I don't recognize the phone number, I somehow know that it's Embry. He hasn't called me since I gave him my phone number, and I knew that he'd have to contact me at some point. Mom looks over at me when I don't answer right away.

"What's wrong?" she asks through a mouthful of rice. I shake my head at her as I answer the phone.

"Hello?" I ask into the speaker. I don't know what to expect, but my heart is leaping in my chest. I'm scared of what he'll say, and I'm scared that I'll somehow screw everything up.

"Hey, it's Embry," his voice comes from the other line. "This is Autumn, right?" I smile slightly as I stand up and move to the front door. I may be close to my mom, but I don't want her overhearing this conversation.

"Yeah. I'm surprised you remembered my name this time." He sighs in regret, but I don't back down. He should feel bad for not remembering my name. I step outside on the front porch and close the front door behind me. I instantly regret it as it's cold and raining, but the cold just helps me stay calm.

"I guess I deserve that. Look, I know that we need to talk. And I don't know if on the phone is the right way to do it." He's right. You don't talk about stuff like this over the phone.

"I know." I take a deep breath and hold it for a second before letting it out.

"Can I ask you a question, though?" He sounds weird, and I have a feeling what his question is.

"What is it?"

"Forgive me if I come off too blunt, but… you _have_ considered… ya know, abortion, right? I just feel like if you got one, it'd make it a lot easier on everyone, especially us." I don't even feel annoyed at the question because I know that I'd ask the exact same thing in his position.

"Yeah, I have. I went all the way to the clinic and everything. But they are required to do an ultrasound before the procedure. And then I heard the heartbeat, and I just… couldn't go through with it." Embry sucks in a breath.

"It has a heartbeat? This early into the pregnancy?" he asks, truly clueless.

"Yes," I tell him, losing patience. "I looked it up and it says that the heart starts to beat at around three to four weeks. Most of the time an ultrasound won't be able to pick it up until around five to six weeks at the earliest."

"And how far along are you? It sounds so complicated to me."

"Today I'm eleven weeks and one day. For me the weeks start on Mondays. So next Monday I'll be twelve weeks." It's quiet for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say. It's kind of awkward, to say the least. We don't even know each other, and yet we're having a baby together.

"Did you tell your parents?" he asks suddenly. I sigh.

"Yeah. Well, I told my mom and my grandma. My dad isn't a part of my life," I tell him. "What about you? Did you tell your folks?"

"My dad, well… Let's just say I'm in the same position as you when it comes to him. And yeah, I told my mom. She was really disappointed in me. Kept going on and on about how she always taught me to use protection and to practice safe sex. She also kept bringing up the fact that now I won't be able to enjoy my young adulthood before having a family. And I get that, I do. I know that I'll have to step up and get a job or two to support you and the… the baby. And I know that I can't go out and get drunk on my twenty-first birthday. I'll have to put the kid first."

"It sucks, right?" He sighs loudly.

"Yeah. But there's nothing we can do."

"Nope. We weren't safe when we had sex, and now we're paying the price. All we can do is make the most of it, and raise the kid right."

"Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" he wonders. I frown.

"I dunno," I answer honestly. "I never really thought about it. This past week has been really rough. I had a lot to think about and a lot to decide. I didn't stop to think about the gender of the baby or even any names. But I kinda hope it'll be a boy."

"Really?" I smile.

"Yeah. They say that no boy can love a girl more than her son. And when I picture the baby, I see a boy. Plus, it'd be a big change for my family. My grandma has four sisters, and they all had girls. Plus, my grandma had a girl—my mom—and then my mom had me."

"Jeez, that's a lot of estrogen."

"Yeah, I guess girls just run in my family. So that's kind of one of the reasons why I want a boy."

"Well one thing's for sure, he or she will have my last name." I go quiet for a moment. Where did that come from?

"Um, Embry, I don't think so."

"What? Why not?" He sounds annoyed, almost offended.

"Well, for one, we're not married, and my last name is Lee. I think that he or she should have my last name. I mean, I'll be the one bringing them to doctors appointments and everything. Plus, we don't even know each other."

"But-"

"Look, we still have a lot of time to worry about this. We don't have to figure it all out tonight. But we both have school tomorrow, so I think that we should call it a night." He lets out a long breath.

"Fine. When can talk again?"

"Well, I have an OB/GYN appointment on Friday. It'll be with the doctor that'll stay with me throughout the whole pregnancy, and hopefully she'll be the one who delivers the baby. You should come."

"Really?" He sounds surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, this is your baby, too. And we can sit down and talk after that."

"Okay. It sounds like a plan."

"Alright, it's at eleven in the morning. Do you know the place?" He snorts.

"Autumn, Forks is the size of a postage stamp, of course I know where it is." I sigh as I hang up, and rub my arms as I make my way into the house. I give a sigh of relief when the warmth hits me. And I'm about to make my way back into the living room when my mother's voice stops me.

"Mark, you don't understand… No, it wasn't planned… Who cares? It's happening and all we can do is support her… I called you because you need to get your ass over here, now… Because you owe her this much… You abandoned her before she was even born, Mark! You need to get your ass over here and support her… Yes, I mean financially! You're not sixteen anymore! You have more money than you know what to do with and you never gave us one cent while Autumn was growing up! Yes! Fine. I'll see you then." I hear the click of the phone and then my mother mutters angrily to herself as she stands up and walks out of the room.

I've never seen her this angry; not even the time when she was passed up for a promotion because she wouldn't sleep with her boss. But who was she talking to? I make my way to the living room and sit down on the couch, but I don't touch my food. Who is Mark? From what she said, it sounded like she was talking to my father. But, how would she have his number? When I last asked her, she said she hadn't been in contact with him since the day I was born. And is he coming here?

An overwhelming sense of panic sets over me. If he is, what would I do? What would I say? What would I say to the guy who never even wanted me? And how could I ever take money from him? He didn't seem to even want to meet me. So why would I want to meet him?

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	7. 11 Weeks 2 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

"We need to talk," I say to Nana the next afternoon from the doorway of her room. I just got home from school and something in my mind is pulling me towards her. This is the longest that she's ever gone without talking to me, and it scares me. She's sitting at her vanity dresser, looking through some old photo albums, I recognize the one she's looking at as my photo album, the one that holds all of the pictures of me growing up.

When I speak, she looks up at me, and when we make eye contact, I can see the sadness wash over her. She takes a deep breath and closes the album.

"We have nothing to talk about, Autumn," she tells me in Chinese, and looks away from me. She only starts speaking Chinese when she's been drinking. Sure enough, I spot a bottle of wine on her nightstand.

"We have everything to talk to about. You can't even look at me for more than a few seconds. And you've been drinking. Do you know how dangerous that is? You're eighteen years sober! This could ruin everything you've worked towards! Do you understand that!"

"Yes, I understand!" she hisses. I huff.

"Then get up, and take a walk with me. Please?" Nana's quiet for a second as she stares longingly at the bottle of wine. She then sighs, slips on her jacket, and the two of us make our way outside. We start walking and I look around at all of the autumn leaves on the trees and the ground, the crisp clean scent of the air that you only get after it's rained for hours. It's my kind of weather.

"How are things going with that guy? What was his name?" I ask, truly curious. My grandmother hasn't dated anyone since I was a kid, and seeing her in a relationship makes me happy.

"Bruce? It's going fine. He's a nice guy." I smile at her.

"He must be. I'm happy for you." She shakes her head and sighs.

"Autumn," she starts, "I know how this is going to go. I went through this same thing with your mother eighteen years ago."

"Then you have to know that I didn't mean for this to happen," I interrupt. "And if I could reverse time and take it back, I would. But I can't. And I'm trying my best to deal with this."

"I know you are. I just—" she cuts off and takes a deep breath. "When I look at you, I see your mother, when she was your age. I've tried to keep you from making those same mistakes; but here we are. You're in the exact same situation as her. And it's really disappointing. Your mother and I didn't want this for you."

"I didn't want this for myself," I admit. "And every morning I wake up and at first I… forget that I'm pregnant. I have that split second of bliss where nothing's wrong. Where I'm just an ordinary teenager. But then I remember that I have a human growing inside me. And that for the rest of my life, everything I do is going to have to be centered around this person. And it honestly scares the shit out of me." Tears spring to my eyes and I bite my tongue to keep them back.

"You should be scared! Your whole life if ruined! You do know that, right?" she hisses. A surge of anger rushes through me and I turn to face her.

"My life is not ruined!" I growl. "It's thrown off course, sure! But it's not ruined. Yes, I will have another person to look after, but plenty of people do it. There have been thousands of teenage girls before me that were in my situation and they somehow made it work. So if they could make it work, so can I." Nana lets out a breath and shakes her head. Her graying black hair is shoulder-length and is going wild right now in the wind. She's pretty, that's for sure. And I heard that when she was younger, she was so amazingly beautiful that she'd been offered a modeling contract, but turned it down so she could move to the United States.

"How? You're so young. You're a child having a child." We enter the small park where we can see people walking their dogs, and jogging around the quarter mile long track. I see one food vender selling what I think is hot dogs and soda.

"Well, I'll be able to finish high school, since the baby isn't due until May. And I'm currently looking for a job so that I can save money. Hopefully Embry will help me with the expenses. And I'll have you and Mom to help me."

"But where are you going to put the baby? It's only a three-bedroom house."

"Well, for the first year or so it could sleep in my room in a crib, and by the time they needed a toddler bed, I'll have found somewhere else to live. And I'm still planning on going to college, but until the child is old enough for preschool, I'll have to take online courses." We come to an old wooden bench, and sit down side by side.

"You're very practical, Autumn. But there are so many things to consider. Babies cost a lot of money." I roll my eyes at her. She knows that I know all too well how much babies cost. She's only drilled it into my head for every second of my life.

"I know, but what choice do I have? The baby is coming whether I want it to or not. I just have to make the best of the situation that I'm in." We're quiet for a few moments, watching the other people in the park. The cold bites my nose and cheeks and my nose stuffs up so that I have to breathe through my mouth, and then my mouth gets dry because of the cold.

"I just… I just wish that you had waited until you were married to have sex. I know that that's hypocritical coming from me, but my views on life have changed a lot throughout the years since I had your mother. I've allowed God into my life and it's brought me so much peace. And I truly hope that the lord forgives you, your mother, and I for both having pre-marital sex and for getting pregnant out of wedlock." I sigh loudly, not wanting to have this conversation again.

"Nana," I breathe, "you know my views on religion. Why do you bring it up?"

"Because I know that He will get you through this."

"I highly doubt a magic man in the sky is going to solve all of my problems. Even if he were real, he's got a lot more serious problems to deal with than a pregnant teenager." I'm starting to get annoyed with her, now. She does this to me every time I do something she doesn't agree with.

"Why do you talk like that, Autumn? Can't you just have some faith?"

"No! And you wanna know why? Because for me, believing in any sort of god is the equivalent of believing in the flying spaghetti monster. So can you please stop it with the religious stuff right now?!" She recoils as if I slapped her, and looks down at her hands. I automatically feel bad for snapping at her. And religion isn't that bad for her. I mean, when I was born, and she became a born-again Christian, she stopped drinking. So there's that.

"I'm sorry," I say calmly. "I know how much religion means to you. But you keep pushing and pushing me. I'm not going to change my mind on the subject. And when you say things like "have faith", please know that that means absolutely nothing to me. It doesn't bring me comfort." She shakes her head and purses her lips.

"I know. And as much as I wish you'd change your mind, I respect your lack of belief." Neither of us talk for a moment, as we try to think about what to say.

"You were a ten pound baby," Nana suddenly says. "For some reason I keep thinking about that fact. Like it matters somehow." I look at her and smirk.

"I know. Mom reminds me of that all the time," I say. "Says that giving birth to me almost ruined her vagina." Nana bursts out laughing, and I join her, glad that the tension has dissolved.

"But you know what? Your mother was eleven pounds. Almost killed me." I look at her in mock horror.

"Now you're scaring me. What if this kind of thing runs in the family and I have to give birth to a ten pound baby?" Nana shakes her head.

"No, the reason why she weighed so much was because I ate a lot with her. I didn't have a lot of willpower when it came to food." I take a deep breath and enjoy the coldness on face.

"Can we just… I would really like if you'd start talking to me again," I tell her. "Can we just forget this and just move on with our lives? I'm really gonna need the help when the baby comes, and I know that I couldn't do it without you." She clasps my hand in hers and brings it up to her lips.

"Of course. I would love nothing more." We stand up and then slowly make our way back home. And I'm happy that I've finally made up with my grandma. She's one of the most important people in my life, and I know that families fight sometimes. But I also know that when they fight, they are mad for a little while and then they forgive each other and move on. And I'm happy that Nana and I are able to move on from this.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	8. 11 Weeks 4 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

"Do you think we'll ever get used to the idea of being teen parents?" Embry asks as we sit down on the sand at First Beach. I sip on my hot chocolate, grateful for the warmth that it brings. I shrug my shoulders.

"I dunno," I say honestly. "I mean, I hope we do. We have the rest of our lives to get used to it." I look out at the sky, at the birds flying south for the winter, the ocean waves crashing violently on the shore.

"I'm not ready for this." I shake my head and look at him. His black hair moving around in the wind, his bronze skin looking amazing under the sunlight. He looks so sad and disappointed. I know exactly how he feels. But I'm tired of throwing pity parties. It's time to move on.

"I'm not either. But the only thing we can do is move on." He nods and looks me over.

"So, I feel like since we're having a baby together, that we should get to know each other better." I smile and turn my body so that it's facing him, and he does the same. "You go first. What's your family like? Where are you from?"

"Well," I begin, "I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. My mom had me when she was sixteen. My father never in the picture… when he and the rest of my mother's town found out about the pregnancy, they all turned on her. My father never wanted anything to do with me, his parents were racist. The town slut shamed my mom and the bullying got so bad that her and my grandma had to move from their original hometown of Orlando, Florida to Vegas." Embry shutters.

"I'm sorry your mom had to go through that."

"It's not your fault." I sigh. "That's one of the reasons why I had originally wanted to get an abortion. I was afraid of what everyone would think. That I'd have to go through the same thing that my mom did. That you'd not want to have anything to do with me or the baby and that I'd have to do everything by myself."

"I'd never do that to you, Autumn," he whispers to me. He takes a hold of my hand, the one not holding the hot chocolate, and squeezes it. "My younger sister and I were raised by a single mother, too. I know how much she struggled, and I don't want you to go through with that. Besides, my mother would literally kill me and dance on my grave if I didn't step up to help you." I roll my eyes at the last part. "Anyway, I was the byproduct of a one-night-stand, ironic, I know. My father hadn't been much of a dad to my older brother, so it came as no surprise that he wasn't one to me. My mom did the best she possibly could for both my sister and I. She works two jobs and is always worrying about everyone but herself. I don't make it easy on her," he admits. "But I'm trying to do better."

I nod. I can understand that. "But on to our game of twenty questions," he continues. "Where is your family from? Not to sound blunt, but you kind of look like you might be part Asian or something." I laugh.

"No, it's not rude or anything. And I am. A quarter Chinese, I mean. My grandma moved to the U.S. from China back in the fifties. I guess she didn't have the best relationship with her parents and wanted to make her own life. She met my grandfather, who was a Puerto Rican car salesman, and had my mom in seventy-three. Unfortunately, my grandfather died before my mom was born, so he was never a part of our lives. As for my father, my mom said that he was Greek. What about you?"

"Well, I've always lived in La Push. My mom is originally from the Makah tribe, but she move here when she was pregnant with me. Four years later, she had Norah. There's not much to tell about my family, honestly." He gives out a short laugh and then sighs. "So, let's go on to easier questions. Like, when were you born?"

"March fifteenth, nineteen-ninety," I answer him. "You?"

"May third, nineteen-ninety. Middle name?" When he brings that up, I laugh. "What is it?" I shake my head.

"Nothing, it's just… there's a story behind my middle name. You see, when my nana came to the U.S., she wanted to make a new start, so she decided to legally change her name. It used to be Li Zhi Ruo, but she changed it to Andrea Hope Lee. And then she gave my mother the middle name Hope, and then my mother also gave me that middle name." He smiles.

"So your name is Autumn Hope Lee. It's nice. Better than Embry Dante Call." I snort a laugh and cover my mouth.

"Dante?" I question. "That sounds ostentatious." He laughs with me.

"Yeah, my mom is a big fan of this old poet. What was his name? Dante Alighieri or something like that." Our laughter dies off and we sit there in silence.

"Favorite color?" I wonder.

"Green. You?"

"Purple. When I was little, I always thought that if I wore purple, then everyone would think that I was a princess. Ya know, because purple was always associated with royalty. When I was five, I went a whole month while wearing nothing but purple. Purple pants, purple shirt, purple socks, purple underwear. I was obsessed for a while." I smile at the memory.

"Listen, about the last name situation—" he begins, but I cut him off.

"Like I said, we don't have to talk about it right now. I'm barely out of the first trimester and we don't really have to worry about until the last few weeks."

"But I want to talk about it. Why don't you want to use my last name?" I let out a breath. I really don't want to talk about it right now, but I know that he won't let it go until we talk it out.

"Well, for one, we're not married. We're not even together. And two, whenever you get married and have more kids, if you choose to, they'll have your last name. For me, this is the only chance that I'll get to pass on my family name. Plus, I'm an only child, and so is my mom, so it's not like my family will have another chance." Embry looks down at his hands.

"I didn't even think of that." I shake my head.

"But, like I said, we don't have to worry about it. If we're still at odds by it by the time the baby comes, then we can just go with a combo, though I don't like hyphens." He nods and looks back up at me.

"Hey, I have to tell you something. Something important." I furrow my eyebrows.

"Sounds serious. What is it?" He sighs.

"I've been arguing with my friends about this for the past few days. And they still don't think that I should tell you, but I feel like I have to. Because I know that you'll find out sooner or later, and I don't want you to feel like I'm hiding it from you. And with you being the mother of my child, you _should_ know."

"Okay…" He stands up and pulls me along with him. Then he starts pulling me in the direction of the woods. "Where are we going?"

"What I'm about to show you… well, it has to be done in private."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're taking me into the woods to murder me?" I ask hesitantly. Like seriously, who drags someone else into the woods to "show them something?" It's suspicious.

"Don't worry, I just can't do this in public. Not everyone takes this well." Embry drags me about ten yards into the woods and then stops in this little clearing that's maybe the size of a backyard. And as soon as we stop in the middle of it, I sense something watching us. I look around the woods and spot several horse-sized wolves surrounding us. My heart skips a beat and fear fills me. What the fuck?

"Um… Embry? Not to rain on your parade, but I don't think that this is the safest place to show me whatever you're going to show me." I look back over at where Embry is standing, and see that he's completely naked. I quickly look away, blushing.

"Dude!" I exclaim. "I know that I've seen you naked before, but I was completely drunk and don't remember any of it, so if you could put your clothes back on, that'd be great."

"Sorry, but I don't want to rip my clothes," he tells me. I frown.

"What?" And then, from the corner of my eye, I see Embry starting to shake. Like, literally shake like a cold chihuahua, only faster. I back away a little, not exactly sure of what is going on. "Are you okay?" I question. And then, he explodes out of his skin. In his place is a humungous gray wolf with black spots. What in the actual fuck? The wolf comes towards me slowly, as if not to startle me. I back up and my back hits a tree.

"Um… Embry?" Even though I just saw him transform, I still find it hard to believe that this wolf is Embry. He lays down so that his head is eye-level to me, and I look into his eyes. They're the same shade of brown with gold flecks around the pupils. Okay. This is actually happening. I'm not on drugs and I'm not hallucinating. This is actually happening.

After a few moments, I watch as the wolf slowly shrinks in size and then suddenly, I'm staring at Embry again. I look away as he puts his clothes on.

"Autumn?" I look back to see Embry standing about a yard away from me, with his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. He looks like a little kid who's been caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar: guilty. I clear my throat.

"So," I begin, "you can turn into a giant wolf." It's not a question, but a statement. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to say. I mean, what _would_ I say to this? Embry nods. "How long have you been able to do this?"

"Since early two-thousand-six," he tells me.

"Can you control when it happens?"

"Most of the time. It's sometimes triggered by anger. At the beginning I was unable to control when it happened because any little thing that annoyed me or pissed me off would trigger it. But I've mostly gotten it under control." I nod.

"Will the baby be safe around you?" That's the most important thing here. Embry's eyes go wide.

"Of course! I'd never hurt the baby. Like I said, I've mostly gotten it under control, and with each day that passes I get better at controlling it." I let out a deep breath that I didn't know I was holding.

"Why does it happen? I mean, it's obviously not normal. What triggers the beginning? In the beginning, why did you guys start to turn into wolves?" Embry sighs.

"It's a long a complicated story. But we're having a bonfire on Sunday, and I'll ask Billy and Old Quil to tell the legends of our tribe for you." I raise my eyebrows.

"So they all know? Who, exactly, can turn into a wolf?" I question.

"My friends and I. You'll meet them at the bonfire." I look around at the wolves that surround Embry. They vary in size and color. The wolf with the dark silver fur looks like he's internally arguing with himself, and then the large black wolf snarls at him, but the gray one snarls back. Embry shoves the heads of both wolves away to break up the fight.

"What are they fighting about?" I ask. Embry shakes his head.

"Paul just doesn't agree that we should tell you. We try to keep it a secret from as many people as we can. The only people who can know are our parents, the elders, and… a couple other people."

"Which one is Paul?" Embry nods at the silver one. I take a deep breath, not believing what I'm about to do.

"Look, Paul," I start, "I'm sorry for any trouble that I'm causing you and your friends. Trust me, I didn't ask for this. But I promise that I won't tell anybody. It's not my secret to tell. So you don't have to worry about me causing any more problems." Still looking annoyed, Paul looks over at me and looks me in the eyes as if to size me up to see if I, a five foot four, hundred and ten pound girl, am a threat. And then something weird happens.

Paul's dark brown eyes go wide and all of the anger leaves him. And then, for some odd reason, he walks so that he's right in front of me, and then drops down and lays on his stomach, as if his legs are weak. And he just keeps staring at me.

"What is happening?" I ask Embry. I can't pry my eyes off of Paul, like something is drawing me to him. I don't understand it. But before Embry has a chance to answer my cell phone rings. I jump a little and pull out my phone. It's my mom.

"Hey," I answer.

"Hey! Where are you?" Mom asks. She sounds like she just got done talking with a one of those telemarketers: annoyed and in need of a drink.

"I'm hanging out with Embry. We decided to talk after the appointment."

"That's good! Did you learn a lot about him?" I laugh at the question.

"Oh, I learned a _lot_ about him. Trust me."

"Well, that's great. Anyway, you should come home now, dinner's almost ready." I nod.

"Okay, I'll be there in twenty." I hang up the phone and chug down the last of my hot chocolate. I then look at Embry. "I have to get home." He nods in understanding.

"Okay, thanks for hearing me out," he says.

"And thanks for telling me. It would have been easy not to." He shakes his head.

"Like I said, you would have found out at some point and I didn't want there to be any secrets between us that could ruin our relationship. We have to stick together and get along for the kid." I nod.

"Yeah." I sigh heavily. "See ya." I wave goodbye at everyone, cast one last look at Paul, who is still staring at me with that weird look on his face, and walk away.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	9. 12 Weeks 3 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

The bonfire ends up being canceled due to a severe snow storm. We were snowed in and were forced to live off of whatever food that was in our cabinets, which was next to nothing. Mom was supposed to go shopping on Sunday, but the roads weren't safe. We got so much snow, that school was canceled from Monday to Wednesday, and by the time Thursday came around, Mom, Nana, and I were living off of stale bread and lettuce.

When I arrive at school, I automatically head for my locker to drop off the books I don't need. But as soon as I step through the front door, I feel every pair of eyes lock onto me. I automatically feel like I'm in one of those cliché movies where the entire school finds out something bad or great about the main character and stare at him/her all day. I figure someone saw me the other day busting my ass trying to shovel the snow with Mom, and literally busted my ass as I slipped on ice. Mom tried to talk me out of helping her, as I'm pregnant and all, but I pointed out to her that hundreds of years ago pregnant women would work in the fields and carry heavy baskets on their heads until they were due, and then they'd squat in the field to have their children. She shut up after that.

I open my locker, planning on not staying there long because I have to ask my math teacher for some extra help on the homework we had, when a piece of paper falls out and onto the ground. I frown and bend to pick it up, and when I see what it is, my heart stops. It's a fucking planned parenthood pamphlet. I look around at the people passing by, trying to see if I can find out who put this in my locker, but as soon as I look back, the eyes are removed from my back. They know. They fucking know that I'm pregnant.

Who could have told them? Mom, Nana, and Embry wouldn't tell, obviously. And besides them and Embry's mother, the people who know are Embry's friends and Marnie and Jade. Would one of them tell? My heart seems to want to pound out of my chest, because I feel like I'm about to pass out. I close my locker, not worried about dropping my books off now, and that's what it happens.

"Slut," someone mutters under their breath as they pass me. Then another. And then another. This is it. The thing that I was so afraid of happening is happening. The same thing that happened to Mom.

"Hey!" Jade exclaims as she and Marnie run up to me. From the worried looks on their faces I can tell that they've already heard. "We need to talk." I follow the two of them into the janitor's closet that isn't being used at the moment, and once the door is closed, I'm ambushed by the two of them speaking at once.

"I swear I didn't tell," Marnie exclaims at the same time Jade says, "I know who told." I shake my head and run my fingers through my hair. Marnie looks at Jade, confused.

"You know who did this?" she questions. Jade nods. I rub my temple and sigh.

"It's happening. The same thing that happened to my mom when she found out she was pregnant with me. It's something that I was so scared of happening." Jade takes a deep breath and grabs me sternly by the shoulders.

"Brenna Thomas told everybody," she reveals. I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

"Brenna? Really?" Brenna had always seemed nice. I don't know her well, she comes from a very traditional family: mom, dad, two kids, and a Golden Retriever. I've never talked to her directly, but I've only been here a short time. I guess I'm only starting to see who she is.

"What a snitch," Marnie mutters.

"I overheard her talking about it to Tatum and Ramona. Apparently her mom is your ob/gyn and was talking about you to Brenna's dad and Brenna overheard them," Jade tells us. I frown deeply, confused. My ob/gyn's name is Dr. Smith. I voice this to Jade. "I think her mom goes by her maiden name while at work. But you have bigger things to worry about because Miss Blabber-Mouth is telling anything that moves that you're pregnant." The door to closet opens and there stands Mike, the janitor. Marnie, Jade, and I pile out of the closet only to be greeted by Brenna who is flanked by her minions, Tatum and Ramona. Before I can say anything, I'm distracted by Brenna looking me up and down, sizing me up. Then she slowly smiles, and I find that I want to slap that smile off of her face.

"Autumn! It's so good to see you!" she acts all nice and bubbly, but even the dumbest person on the planet would be able to sense the passive aggressiveness in her tone. "I heard the good news! You're expecting! Congratulations! Who's the dad?"

"Who's _your_ dad, Brenna?" Jade retorts. "Because I've seen your father and I have to say that you look nothing like him. You look more like the night janitor here. Didn't he go to school with your mom?" Woah, hold on there, Jade. I don't want you getting suspended because of me. Brenna's lips thin into a straight line as she fills with annoyance. She turns back to me.

"Rumor has it that the dad is Embry Call." My mouth drops open. How the hell could she know that? This town is not _that_ small. But I refuse to let her push me around and make a fool of me. I know for a fact that if my mom were here right now, she wouldn't take any shit from them. Yes, she ran away when it was happening to her, but she's come a long way since then. And I know that she'd kick Brenna's ass if it came to it.

"And so what if he is? What's it to you?" I ask her. She comes up to me and pokes me in the chest. I slap her hand away as she speaks.

"I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you hook up with him at the party. You'd think you have the sense to not go after a man that's taken." Marnie snorts.

"Jesus Christ, Brenna, Embry broke up with you six months ago. You would have thought you'd take a hint," she calls out. when I look over at Marnie, I notice that all of the students that were in the hall when the confrontation started, are now crowded around us. Of course. Why did I think that people would mind their own business?

"And why are you bringing this up now?" I question her. "If you saw me hook up with him three months ago, why not say something to me then? I'm new here, remember? I had no clue you two used to date." Brenna has trouble coming up with something to say to that.

"And you're just jealous that Embry is actually sticking around to help Autumn with the baby," Jade throws in. She then raises her voice. "And before you all go and judge Autumn, let's not forget when Teddy Gardner knocked Brenna up two years ago. It was all over school and nobody gave a bag of dicks about it." I raise my eyebrows at this. I would have never guessed.

Before anybody can say anything else, a couple of teachers come out and disperse everyone. I say goodbye to my friends, promising them that we'd talk after school, not factoring in how I'm going to make it through the school day. But as I slowly make my way to class, still thinking about the information I just found out, I hear someone call my name. I turn to see Principle Wells standing outside of the women's bathroom. She's a pretty woman in her mid-thirties with dark hair and pale skin. I think I heard Marnie tell me that she's new around here, and replaced the old principle due to unknown reasons. She looks at me with kindness and I try and fail to give her a smile.

"Follow me to my office," she says. It's not a request. I reluctantly follow her into the next building and into her small, cramped office. She sits down behind her desk, I sit down in a chair in front of her desk, and she folds her hands and looks at me for a moment.

"How are you feeling, Autumn?" she asks me, seeming truly curious. I take a deep breath and let it out. I'm not sure how to answer that question. There are so many things running through my mind right now and I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.

"I've had a rough few weeks," I say honestly. She nods.

"I want to say that principles are immune to hearing rumors, but they're not. I heard about what Miss Thomas has been saying about you." I look up at her.

"They're true. The rumors. I'm pregnant. I found out a few weeks ago and I'm honestly still trying to adjust to everything. To the fact that at this very moment I'm growing a human being inside of me. That I can't even fit into my old clothes anymore. And the fact that my whole life is about to change."

"It's understandable that you're overwhelmed. I was when I was your age." I jerk back in surprise.

"You were-" I trail off. She nods.

"I was assaulted when I was thirteen. It resulted in pregnancy." When she says that, my heart automatically reaches out to her.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She shakes her head.

"I don't like to think about it. I normally don't tell people about that part of myself, but you are an exception. I know that our babies were conceived through different situations, separated by twenty-one years. But I want you to know, that I know how you feel. You're scared and unsure of what will happen next. But know that I will _not_ allow anyone to bully you because of this. Bullying is not acceptable within my jurisdiction."

"Thank you," I say, truly grateful. It's nice to hear someone else is in my corner.

"When are you due?"

"May twenty-eighth." She writes something on a post-it note and then looks back up at me.

"Here's what I'll do: I'll inform all of your teachers about your situation so that if, at any point, you need to use the bathroom several times throughout the class, you'll be able to without trouble. And as your due date nears, we'll have another conversation about what we'll do about your final exams and graduation." I nod and almost burst into tears. I never expected the principle to be so understanding. It would have been easy for her to just let me figure the school stuff out on my own.

And yes, I will have to worry about what my classmates will say. And yes, I still have to find a job and graduate high school and figure out where I'm going to fit all of the baby stuff. But I know that with my family, friends, and Embry by my side, I'll make it through this.

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 **A/N: What did you guys think? So, I know that I haven't posted for this story in a little while, and for that, I'm sorry. I'm in school and have a job, as well as dealing with my mental health. But I'm gonna try to keep my updates as consistent as I can. Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	10. 12 Weeks 4 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

 **A/N: Hey guys! So, I just want to put that there is a poll up on my profile asking what you guys think the sex of Autumn's baby should be. Please go vote.**

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Autumn's P.O.V.

The next day, after a long day at school, I decide to go to the small café that's on the edge of Forks and just outside of La Push. I bring my laptop and decide to look for jobs. After all, I'm gonna have a baby sooner or later and I need to be able to do my part. When I get there, I order a small decaf coffee and two cannolis—which I've been craving more than anything—and sit down at a table.

I search the internet for what seems like hours, scrolling through website after website. But one cup of coffee and two cannolis later I find that the only places that are hiring are in Port Angeles or Seattle. What is up with this place? I know it's a small town, but geez! I can't believe there's no one hiring. I slam my laptop shut and rub my face in frustration. I can't believe there aren't any postings. I just need a break from this. Maybe…

"Hey," a male's voice greets. I look up to see a guy I've never seen before. He's obviously from the Quileute tribe. He's enormously tall with tan skin, black hair, and dark eyes. Is he one of Embry's friends?

"Uh… hi," I greet him, not really sure what else to say. I'm not sure if I should ask his name. I don't want to seem rude. Luckily, I don't need to, as he reads the look on my face.

"Paul. I'm Embry's friend." My face lights up in recognition.

"Right, the guy who doesn't really like me." His face turns confused at my comment, like he doesn't remember what happened last week. "In the woods. When Embry told me about—." Recognition crosses his face and he looks down, ashamed.

"Look, I'm sorry about the other day," he says after a moment of hesitation. He looks me in the eyes and I can see that he means what he's saying. "I was a huge ass." I shake my head and let out a breath.

"Look, I get it. This is a huge thing that you guys are… a part of. And if you tell the wrong person and it gets out… then bad things could happen." He shakes his head.

"But still. You're…pregnant with Embry's baby." He stutters on the word pregnant, like he's choking on the word. I'm not sure why, though. I would understand why Embry would have a hard time saying it. But I don't know Paul, and he doesn't know me or have any connection to me. it doesn't make sense. "You need to know something like that. Especially if there's a baby involved." I look at him for a moment. He does seem genuine. Plus, he's kinda cute, and he apologized. So I can't stay mad at him.

"Apology accepted. Thank you." I give him a small smile as I pack my laptop into my bag and zip it up.

"So, what were you doing on the computer?" he questions. I run a hand through my hair and sigh.

"Trying to look for a job. I figured that if I'm gonna have a kid soon, I have to start as early as possible to save up money."

"Any luck?" He looks interested, though I'm not sure why. Who finds job searches interesting? No one. I shake my head and lean back in my chair.

"Nope. Apparently every position between here and Port Angeles is taken. Which is just wonderful." Sarcasm is practically dripping out of my mouth on the last part.

"Why not get a job here?" he asks. I raise my eyebrows at him in surprise. I look around at the small café. The dinner rush is just starting and I see a few people who probably come here on a regular basis to eat during their work break or directly after their shift.

"Are you serious?" I ask him. He shrugs, looks around, and then when he spots a middle-aged woman with tan skin, black hair piled on the top of her head, and an apron on, he calls out to her.

"Hey, Mom," he calls. The woman looks up, and when she sees him, she smiles. She walks over from where she was behind the counter, and kisses him on the top of his head. His mom? Wait… what's happening?

"Hey, Honey," she greets. He smiles up at her, and I can see he loves her. Normally a guy his age wouldn't be caught dead around his mother when he was with his friends or a girl. I respect him for that.

"Mom, this is Autumn, the girl I was talking about." I raise my eyebrows and give him a look. What did he just say? A smile crosses my face.

"You told your mom about me?" I tease him. I kind of find that weird. But then again, if I could tell my mom about the whole wolf thing, I probably would. I'd tell her about Paul, too, and how he didn't think that I should know that secret. "All good things, I hope." Paul gives me a small smile and shakes his head.

"Autumn, this is my mom, Eleanor," he finishes his introduction. Eleanor smiles over at me, her beautiful face beaming. Paul looks a lot like her. The same square face and wide nose that looks better on him.

"Please, call me Elle. It's nice to meet you, Autumn." I smile at her.

"It's nice to meet you, too."

"Mom, I was wondering if you could hire Autumn as a waitress." I cough in surprise. What is he doing?

"No, you don't need to do that. I am capable of finding a job on my own," I tell her. I shoot Paul a look, trying to make him stop talking. I don't want pity. I don't need it. And I don't want to be hired because my baby daddy's friend asked his mom to.

"Why not? I'm hiring," Elle tells me. "I just don't like to post things online because you don't know what kind of people you could get." She sees me hesitate. "Look, if you'd like, I'll interview you. But if you want the job, it's yours. I could use the help ever since I had let go my last afternoon shift waiter."

"But aren't you worried that I won't be good at it?" I one-hundred percent know how to be a waitress. I started waitressing at Denny's the moment I turned sixteen. But Elle doesn't need to know that. Elle shrugs.

"I don't expect you to know how to do everything on your first day. I'll have someone train you." My conscious thinks this is a good idea. It's not that far from my house and it'd be a good job. But my mouth has to be a cunt and self-sabotage.

"I'm also pregnant. Do you really want a pregnant teen as a waitress?" She gives me a sly look. She knows what I'm up to.

"In that case, it'll be a good thing that I hire you. You can start making money before the baby comes. This way I get my good karma and you get the money that you need. It's a win-win." I sigh heavily and shoot a look over at Paul, who's watching the two of us, amused.

"Okay. You've got yourself a new employee," I finally give in. Elle cheers and sticks out her hand. I put my hand in hers and give it a squeeze.

"I'll get you the paper work to fill out and then I can get you on the schedule!" As she walks away, I kick Paul's shin.

"Hey!" he laughs. "What was that for?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"You know very well what it was for. I can't believe you put me on the spot like that."

"You were having trouble looking for a job, so I fixed it."

"I don't need you to fix things for me. I'm a big girl. I can do things for myself." He deflates in disappointment. I can tell he thought he was doing a good thing. And I guess he was, but I don't like that he put me on the spot like that. "In any case, thank you. Your methods might not have been ideal, but you did solve my problem." He gives me a knowing smile. "But don't think I've forgotten how you put me on the spot like that. It wasn't very nice."

"Well, how can I make it up to you?" he asks. And even though I know he's only joking, I take him up on it. And fifteen minutes later we're strolling through the aisles of the local grocery store. I have a list in my hand while Paul pushes the cart beside me.

"Ya know, I didn't have this in mind," Paul says as I put some tomatoes in one of those clear plastic bags and place it into the cart. I smile at him.

"I know. But you're the one who offered," I remind him. We go through the rest of the fresh fruit and vegetable section and I pick up cucumbers, celery, carrots, a bag of onions, a bag of both jalapeño and bell peppers, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, squash. For fruits, I got apples, bananas, two cantaloupes, blueberries, strawberries, mangoes, and peaches (I've been craving fruit like crazy. I'll go through the two entire cartons of strawberries by Sunday).

Then as we go through the aisles, and I am throwing in the stuff that's on my list, Paul and I just… talk. It's weird, but for some reason, I feel at ease with him. I don't know why.

"I dunno," I say as I put a carton of eggs into the cart. "I love my mom, ya know? But sometimes it felt like I was the mom, not the other way around."

"How so?" Paul wonders.

"There were times when she'd go out at night and wouldn't go back home until I was getting ready for school the next morning. And then I'd have to sit there and almost miss my bus because I was _scolding_ her. That's not something that a ten-year-old should have to do. And yes, I get it. She was still in her twenties, a time when a lot of people are still on their own and still able to do their own thing."

"It can be hard to let go of your childhood, especially when you've had to grow up so fast." I nod.

"I know that. I just wish that she would have been the responsible one so that I didn't have to be." Paul takes a breath as we turn into another aisle and get more stuff.

"Let's talk about something happy," he finally breaks the silence as I put in a bag of Oreos (my favorite cookie of all time). I think about it, and automatically think of something.

"When I was thirteen, my great-grandparents passed away," I start. Paul frowns in confusion.

"How is that happy?" he asks, truly confused. I snort.

"Let me finish. My great-grandparents passed away and my grandma's sisters were having their funeral in China. My mom convinced my grandma to get over whatever grudge she held against her parents, and we all flew to China for the funeral. We were there for a week, and had five free days after my great-grandparents were buried to do whatever. And we did every touristy thing you could think of. We visited museums, we saw shows, we went to see the Great Wall of China. We took so many pictures and ate so much good food that by the time the week ended, none of us wanted to leave. It's the best memory of my mom and grandma that I have." I find that I'm smiling as we come to a stop behind a person waiting in line at the register. And when I look at Paul, he's also smiling warmly at me.

"What about you?" I question him. "What's your best memory?"

"My best memory was when I was nine. I was at school and it was recess time. A boy in my class had dared me to climb up a tree. Wanting to seem cool, I did it, and of course I slipped and fell out of the tree and broke my arm. My mom was so mad at me while I was getting my cast on; she kept on going about how I was old enough to know better and that I shouldn't have given in to peer pressure. But after we left the hospital, we went to see a movie and got ice cream. Then we stayed up late playing Monopoly."

"That's really sweet," I say as we pile the stuff onto the belt and the cashier starts to scan them. He shrugs.

"It wasn't as good as yours." I roll my eyes.

"Paul, it's not a competition. You had a nice day with your mom. And that's what matters. There must be a reason why you love that day."

"I think it's because that was the first time I saw my mom truly happy after her and my dad got divorced. Before that day, she was always so sad and buried herself in her work. I think that it was the day she finally moved on from my dad." I smile.

"You see? That's a very special moment. There's nothing wrong with it." Paul nods.

"I know." And he smiles. I pay for the groceries, put the stuff in my car, and then Paul rides in my car to my house, where he helps me bring the stuff in. Nana is on another date with Bruce and Mom is working late tonight. So I turn on some Britney Spears, and jam out while Paul and I put the groceries away and clean up all of the bags. And when we're done, and I find that it's getting late—meaning that Nana will be home soon—I escort Paul to the front door.

"So hey," he says as he steps onto the front porch and turns to face me. "I really enjoyed going shopping with you." I bite my lip to keep myself from smiling.

"I did too. Thank you, by the way. I know you didn't have to, but it was really cool that you did." And it's true. I'm grateful for not only his help, but his company. He's just a good person to talk to.

"No problem. But… I was wondering if you'd like to do something sometime. Maybe go out to dinner or something." He looks hopeful, but something in my gut and my heart tells me to say no. There's just so much going on in my life right now. I just found out I'm pregnant with his friend's baby. And I have so many things to figure out. I have no room in my life for a relationship right now.

"I'm sorry, Paul," I say. "But I'm not looking to be in a romantic relationship right now." His face falls instantly and my heart automatically reaches out to him. "I just have a lot going on with the baby and stuff. Plus, I'm not really ready to be in a relationship. I have to get my own life together before I add a boyfriend to the mix. Ya know?" He nods.

"I understand. Of course. I forgot everything going on with the baby for a minute." I laugh.

"You're lucky. I wish I could forget about it for a few minutes." I sigh and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I can't leave him with nothing. Not with how nice he was to me today. "But even though I don't want to go on a date… maybe we could do something together as friends?" Paul's face lights up a little. But still looks disappointed.

"Okay," he agrees. "I'd like that." I give him my phone and he puts his number in my contacts.

"I'll call you and we can work out a time to hang out."

"That sounds great."

"But anyway," I tuck my phone back into my pocket. And smooth down my sweater. "I'm starving, so I'm gonna go make myself something for dinner. I'll talk to you later?" He nods as he slowly makes his way down the stairs.

"Yeah. And I've gotta get home and finish my homework. If I don't I'll never hear the end of it." I smile and shake my head.

"Don't study too hard." He snorts.

"Trust me, I won't." Laughing, I shut the door and lock it. Damn. What did I just get myself into?

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 **A/N: What did you guys think? So, I figured that I'd post a longer chapter to make up for not posting in a little while. I hope you guys like it. Also, this will most likely be the last chapter I'll be able to get up before Christmas because I'm working everyday up until Christmas day. So happy holidays everyone! Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	11. 12 Weeks 6 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

"Honey, there's something I need to tell you," Mom says as she walks into the kitchen on Sunday morning. I stop mid-sentence, I had been having a conversation with Paul on the phone while I ate my oatmeal. I debate on if I should ask her if we can talk later, or tell it to Paul. But the look on her face tells me that I should go with the latter. She looks anxious or something.

"Hey, I have to call you back," I say to Paul.

"Oh! Okay. Talk later," he answers.

"Talk later." I hang up and put my phone down, and turn back to Mom. She slowly walks over to me and sits across from me at the table. For a few minutes she seems to struggle on how to say whatever she has to say.

"Mom, can you please just spit it out? You're starting to worry me." She takes a deep breath and lets it out.

"Okay," she starts, "So, a couple of weeks ago, when we first found out you were pregnant… I contacted your father, Mark." I raise my eyebrows at her, feigning surprise. I already knew she contacted Mark, as I walked in on their phone conversation. But she doesn't know that.

"Why? How do you even have his number?"

"He's this big, fancy lawyer, so his phone number isn't exactly that hard to find. But I contacted him because I thought that now would be the right time to start supporting you financially." I snort loudly as I stare into my mostly empty bowl.

"You really think he's gonna give us a dime? After he was so horrible to you? After he told you to get an abortion?" I look her in the eyes and try to see into her head. What had she been thinking? "He's as likely to give us money as he is to step up and be an actual father to me. He's especially not gonna want to give us money when he finds out that I'm pregnant." Mom sighs and runs a hand through her hair.

"I know that you have no reason to trust him. He didn't want anything to do with our lives. But you have to look at it from his point of view for a second. He was seventeen at the time. He had had plans to go to college and play football. He didn't want to be held down with a baby. And men… everyone one does stupid crap when they're young. If we didn't, you wouldn't be here and neither would that baby that's inside you." I give her a look. What is that supposed to mean?

"What I'm trying to say is: please just give him a chance. I don't like it much, either, but we don't have much of a choice. Don't be afraid to ask him for help. He owes you a lot for not being there all of these years." I give her a look. "Please? Do it for me?" I sigh loudly. I really, really don't want to do this. But I can't deny my mother when she's giving me those puppy-dog eyes.

"Okay! Fine. But don't expect me to be happy about it." She snorts.

"I won't. Promise." She stands up. "He should be here in about an hour, so get ready." My eyes widen as she walks out of the kitchen.

"Wait, what?" Why the hell does she do that? I only have an hour to take a shower and get dressed. Which, is more than enough, but still. She could have given me a heads up days ago! Whatever. There's no used dwelling on it. I put my bowl in the sink, take my prenatal vitamin, and then make my way upstairs. I shower, allowing the hot water to sooth my nerves. After, I get dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. And then brush my hair and leave it down. I don't do anything too fancy because this is the guy who abandoned me before I was even born. He doesn't deserve for me to dress up for him.

By the time I finish brushing my teeth, I hear the doorbell ring downstairs, and my heart speeds up. Voices rise up to where I am. I take a couple of deep breaths to prepare myself. Okay. I can do this. I don't know who I'm trying to convince.

"Autumn!" Mom calls from downstairs. Guess that's my cue. I leave the bathroom and take my time descending the stairs. And then I'm in the living room, and I'm greeted by a new face. Sitting on the love seat, is a man around Mom's age with blond hair and green eyes. He looks very formal, like he's about to go to court or something. Mom and Nana both look very uncomfortable right now.

"Autumn," Mark says as a way of greeting. He's looking me over, taking in every detail of me. I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Hey," I say back. I don't know what else to say. He seems to sense that and clears his throat.

"I don't know if your mother told you about me, but my name is Mark Anastas. I'm your father." I give a sarcastic laugh and nod.

"Yeah, I know who you are." My words are bitter. He nods stiffly.

"I can't believe that I'm finally meeting you. You're just as beautiful as you mom."

"Great. Nice to meet ya." I look to Mom, pleading. "Can I go now?" Mom gives me a sour look.

"Autumn, please. You told me you'd play nice."

"You gave me an hour to prepare for this meeting so I guess neither one of us is happy." She rolls her eyes.

"Look, Autumn," Mark starts, "I know that I've been absent from your life since before you were born. There's no excuse for it other than the fact that I was seventeen. I had my whole life ahead of me. I wanted to go to college and play college football. I wouldn't be able to do any of that if I had a kid. Can you really blame me?" My eyes narrow, and so do Mom's. Nana quietly leaves the room, as if she knows what's about to happen.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I exclaim. "You had your whole life ahead of you? You were only seventeen? That's no excuse! Look at that woman, right over there." I point to Mom, who's trying to keep her silence so I can say what I need to get off my chest. Mark turns to look at her. "That woman was just sixteen when she had me. Like you, she had dreams of going to college. She had dreams of becoming a photographer. But instead of acting like a fucking petulant adolescent, she took responsibility for her actions, and she gave up everything to raise me. And ya know what? When I started school, she was still able to go to college to become a nurse. All while supporting me and helping my grandmother pay the bills." Mark looks ashamed. Of himself, hopefully. "So, tell me again why you couldn't step up and help her." He takes a deep breath.

"I know that you're mad at me. You have every right to be. And I know that I messed up. But please, let me make it up to you." I raise my eyebrows. Where the hell is this going?

"Why don't you, your mother, and your grandmother come to our house for Thanksgiving?" There's a knock on the door suddenly. I look out the window and see Embry's car. Thank god he's here. I need an excuse to leave.

"Excuse me," I mutter. I go and open the front door, where Embry stands. "Hey. What's up?" He takes a deep breath.

"Can I come in? I need to talk to you and you mom and grandma," he says. I frown, and hesitate.

"I dunno. I have a guest over…" I trail off. But then I get an idea. If Mark were to see what a good example of a responsible person is, maybe he'll stop giving bullshit excuses as to why he was never in my life. "Ya know what? Come in. I want you to meet someone."

"Um… okay…" His face turns confused, but he follows me into my house (the first time he's actually been inside) and into the living room. Mark's eyes widen when Embry walks in. While he's not as bulky as the rest of his friends, he still has muscles, and he's unbelievably tall.

"Who is this boy?" Mark asks, looking at Embry with a stuck up look on his face. Here we go.

"This is Embry Call. He's my baby daddy." Mark raises his eyebrows.

"You're the one who knocked up my daughter?" he questions Embry. Embry looks confused.

"Who are you?" Embry asks.

"This is the man who contributed sperm to my existence," I explain. Embry's eyes widen.

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you. I just came to talk to Autumn, her mom, and grandma."

"Don't mind us, talk away." I can tell Mark is brewing something up. It's written all over the shithead's face. Embry looks to me, and I nod.

"It's fine. What do you need?" Embry takes a deep breath and lets it out.

"Today, my mom brought it to my attention that she's never met you or your mom and grandma. So she wanted me to come over here and formally invite you to dinner at our house tomorrow night. All three of you." I raise my eyebrows and smile.

"She wants to meet us?" I ask. He nods.

"Yeah. Her exact words were "I want to meet the mother of my grandchild." I think she's been going through a mid-life crisis or something because she recently started to baby proof the house even though you're not even in the second trimester yet."

"We'd love to come, Embry. Thank you," Mom answers with a smile. And that's when I realize that Embry hasn't even met Mom or Nana yet.

"Oh! How rude of me. Um… Embry, this is my mother, Angela," I gesture to Mom who's smiling up at Embry. I think she's loving this because I've never brought a guy home to meet her before.

"Call me Angie," Mom tells him. I roll my eyes.

"And this is my grandma, Andrea."

"Call my Andie," Nana says with a small smile. She's not as enthusiastic as mom.

"Angie and Andie, got it. It's nice to meet you both. Are either of you allergic to anything? Just so my mom knows when she's cooking."

"Nope. None of us are allergic to any food," I tell him. "We can eat anything." Embry smiles at me.

"Good to know. Also, Paul told me to tell you something about your upcoming binge-watching session of _Total Drama Island_. That he needs to push it back by an hour because his mom is making him study for an upcoming test." My eyes widen.

"Damn! Now we're not gonna get the whole experience!" I exclaim. Embry throws up his hands.

"Take it up with Paul and Elle. I'm just the messenger." I roll my eyes.

"Wait, who's Paul?" Mark asks, looking confused.

"He's this guy I've been hanging out with. Embry's friend."

"Don't you think it's bad enough you're pregnant?" Mark starts. "Now you're going out and spending time with other guys doing god knows what?" He turns to Mom. "Angie, I don't know how you've raised her, but it's clear that she's running around like some harlot. You don't want people getting the wrong idea." Mom's friendly demeanor changes into one of anger and annoyance.

"Ya know what, Mark? Maybe if you'd bother to stick around to help raise her, you'd be able to have an opinion, but since you weren't, I'd appreciate it if you shut your damn mouth. She's a smart and sensible young woman. Yes, she made a bad choice. But so did we, so we have no room to judge her," she growls. But Mark isn't giving up so easily.

"You're the one who let her go out and get pregnant in the first place. Now she's attached to this… this hoodlum for the rest of her life!"

"What do you mean by 'hoodlum?'" Embry questions angrily.

"You know what I mean. People like you are always trouble." Oh my god.

"No, we don't know what you mean," I tell him. "People like what? Teenage guys? Lower class people? Or… don't tell me you mean people of color."

"All three." I bark out a humorless laugh and go to remove his ass from our house, but Embry takes ahold of my hand. His own hand is trembling slightly.

"Please," he whispers into my ear. "Don't leave my side. You're the only thing keeping me from bursting out of my skin right now." I squeeze his hand. And luckily, I'm able to stand by his side because Nana quickly bust out those "Asian ass kicking roots" she's always bragging about, and rips him a new one. She yells at him and gets in his face. And by the time she's done, Mark is red-faced. He stands up, fixes the tie that he's wearing, and turns to me.

"Autumn, I'll make you a deal. I'll give you all the money you need—more than enough to support both you and the child. But you have to cut Mr. Call here out of your life. I'll make sure he pays child support, but he won't be allowed to be near or see the child or you." This fucking racist prick.

"Or, how about you get the fuck out of my house," Mom snarls. Gets in his face, and the look on her face is one I haven't seen in a long time. It's her mama bear face. "You disgust me. It's clear now that you're going to turn out just like your parents. It's a wonder how you ever wanted to be with me considering how racist you are. And you can bet I'm going to be taking you to court and sue you for the money I never got while Autumn grew up."

"Don't, Mom. He's not worth it," I tell her. "We've gotten along fine without his help. Plus, I'll have Embry to help me with expenses and stuff." I turn to Mark. He looks highly annoyed.

"You'll be in my prayers, Autumn. I hope you ask for forgiveness from God. Hopefully you won't go to hell for the stuff you're doing." I give him a sarcastic smile, happy knowing that what he's saying has absolutely no effect on me and does not make me feel one ounce of remorse whatsoever.

"I know that was meant to hurt me. But, unfortunately for you, I'm an atheist. So I couldn't give two fucks if I'm in your prayers or not. Now get out of my house." He huffs and stomps out of the house. A minute later we hear his car speeding away.

It's quiet in the house for a moment before Mom sighs loudly and comes over to give me a hug.

"I'm so sorry, honey," she mutters into my hair. "I'm so sorry he was such a dick." She pulls back and Turns to Embry. "And I'm sorry, Embry, for how he acted towards you. I had thought that he had changed after all this time. But it looks like I was wrong." Embry shakes his head.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Angie. It was his fault. And as mad as I am, I know that what he thinks doesn't matter. Especially since I'll most likely never see him again. And he won't be allowed near our child." He directs that last part to me. I smile.

"Agreed," I say. "Now, let's celebrate Mark's defeat by going out for some ice cream. I've been craving it like crazy." Embry laughs lightly.

"I'm down for that. You guys want to come?" Mom and Nana shrug.

"Why not?" Nana says. "I could go for some cookie dough ice cream right about now. I use a lot of energy when I break out my Asian ass-kicking roots." I snort a laugh.

"Whatever you say, Mom," Mom says. And then we all go out to the diner, where we each get a sundae. And I can honestly say that it was the best sundae I've ever had.

* * *

 **A/N:** **What did you guys think? I decided to give you guys a longer chapter since it's been two months since I last updated the story. Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	12. 13 Weeks

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Autumn's P.O.V.

The next day is the start of our Thanksgiving break. Which means that I can sleep in, and then have some of Nana's homemade French toast before I meet Embry at the doctor's. At around one in the morning I woke up and found that I was bleeding a little bit. I had screamed and started crying because I was so worried that something was wrong. That I might be having a miscarriage. So I called earlier this morning and made an appointment for noon.

"You're showing!" Mom smiles as I come down the stairs. For the first time in weeks I'm not wearing a baggy shirt or sweater. I'm wearing one of my older shirts that used to be a little big on me, but is now form fitting. I look down and my stomach fills with butterflies. Mom's right. Between my hips, a small bump is poking out. I hadn't really noticed it before Mom pointed it out, as I try not to pay attention to my ever-growing uterus. But now that I see it, it consumes my mind. Fuck. This is getting more and more real by the second.

I look at Mom and try to give her a smile, but it comes out as a grimace. Her smile turns into a look of sympathy as she refills her coffee cup. She's in her scrubs so she must have just gotten home from a night shift. She's a registered nurse at an emergency room in Port Angeles and most times has to do twelve to fourteen hour shifts. It's brutal on her, but—as she points out—it keeps her in shape, plus she's able to easily support a family of three, especially since Nana retired. We're by no means rich, as Mom puts half of all of her monthly earnings in the bank for her retirement and my college fund, plus she has to pay off student loans. But we do live comfortably. We haven't had the threat of being evicted or had our electric shut off since I was twelve, when Mom finally graduated and started working full time.

"I know the feeling, Babe," she tells me. "The first time I noticed my stomach was showing, I nearly had a mental breakdown. I was so scared. Somehow the stomach makes it even more real than it was before."

"Yes," Nana cuts in as she sets a plate of French toast on the table for me. I sit down and pour syrup over it along with some cut up strawberries. "Because seeing the baby on a sonogram and hearing their heart beating is just a figment of your imagination, Angie." Mom rolls her eyes.

"You know what I mean, Mom." She turns back to me. "Are you still worried?" She's referring to the appointment. I nod my head and the butterflies intensify.

"I just want everything to be okay." Mom places a hand over mine.

"I'm sure everything is okay. But better be safe than sorry." I nod, and we're silent while eating the rest of our brunch. I'm too worried about all the things that could be wrong to talk. I just need to be left alone with my thoughts.

After, Mom heads up to her room to go to bed while Nana goes out on a date with Bruce. And by the time I arrive at the doctor's my heart is pounding and I'm even more worried.

"Are you still bleeding?" Embry questions me when I meet up with him inside. I had just checked in with the secretary and we're now waiting for the nurse. I put a hand on my stomach and rub circles on it protectively.

"No," I tell him. "It stopped after about fifteen minutes. But I still want to make sure." He nods his head.

"Of course. But, hey." He grabs my hands in his and squeezes them while he looks into my eyes. "Whatever happens, I'll be there, okay?" I nod and take several deep breaths. I'm grateful that he's here to go through this with me. I don't know what I'd do without him.

"I hope that it doesn't come to that," I say as we sit down. "I know that this pregnancy was unexpected and unwanted at first. But… I dunno, I don't feel that way anymore, ya know?" I rub my temples. "And I know that I'm probably worrying for nothing, but, I just won't be able to relax until the doctor sees us."

"Okay. Just sit tight, I'm sure they'll call us back any minute." I take a deep breath through my nose and sit back. Okay. I can do this. I can't worry until I know there's something to worry about.

Five minutes later a nurse calls us back. She has me pee in a cup and sends it off with another nurse. After, she has me lay down on the table, squirts the cold gel on my stomach, and starts to move the wand over my abdomen. A black and white image pops onto the screen. After a minute, the nurse frowns deeply at the screen as she takes pictures.

"Is there something wrong?" I question her, the butterflies returning to my stomach. I can't deal with this much longer.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I'm not allowed to give patients results. I'm only qualified to take pictures," she tells me in a soothing voice. She's an elderly woman, maybe sixty or seventy with a pair of round-folk glasses and scrubs covered in lollypops.

"But if everything was fine, you would have told us already. Which means that something is obviously wrong!" I'm panicking now. Embry squeezes my hand.

"Calm down, Autumn. She's just doing her job," he reminds me. I sigh and rub my temples.

"I-I know. I'm sorry. It's just I'm so worried."

"I know, sweetheart," the nurse says. But then she smiles. "Have you felt the baby kicking yet?" She's obviously trying to get my mind off of the bleeding. It kinda works. I shake my head.

"No, no yet." She gives me a knowing smile.

"Well, it's happening now. I'm not sure how to describe it exactly, but when I was pregnant, it sort of felt like my tummy was filled with butterflies." My heart skips a beat when she says that, as I realize that I've been feeling the baby kick all day… I just hadn't known it.

"Really?" She nods. "I can feel it. I thought it was just my nerves, though. I didn't think it was the baby kicking."

"Are you serious?" Embry exclaims. He lifts up his hand, and without needing to verbally communicate, I grab his hand and place it over the spot on my stomach where I feel the butterflies the strongest. Embry's eyes widen and he smiles widely. This is a big step, a little reminder that all of this is real.

"Now, let me go get Doctor Smith," the nurse says. She leaves, I clean myself up, and a minute later Doctor Smith comes through the door, carrying a clip board and pen. She looks serious and I can spot the similarities between her and Brenna. They have the same brown eyes and bulbous nose.

"Autumn, Embry, hello," she greets us. I brace myself for the news that she's gonna share. "So, I have some good news and bad news. I'm going to give you the good news first." Embry and I nod and I squeeze his hand tightly. "The reason for the bleeding you experienced last night, I believe, isn't a cause for concern." You can literally feel the relief radiating off of Embry and I. "We tested your urine and it turns out that you have a urinary tract infection, which can cause bleeding in early pregnancy. I'm going to prescribe you Fosfomycin, which you'll take for a few days and it should clear up. If you start bleeding again, go to the emergency room." I nod and I almost cry from relief.

"That brings us to the bad news." Doctor Smith the points to a bright spot on the baby's chest area. "That is called an echogenic focus. It's a small growth on the baby's heart."

"What? What does that mean?" I question.

"By itself, it poses no risk. But… there is a chance that it's a sign of chromosomal abnormalities."

"A chance?" Embry asks. "How can we be sure?" I feel numb. Bad thing after bad thing keeps happening to me. I don't know how much more I can take.

"The only way we can be sure is if we do an amniocentesis. It's a procedure where I take a needle and insert it through the stomach into the uterus to gather amniotic fluid to test for any abnormalities. The entire procedure takes about forty-five minutes, you'll have to be on bedrest for forty-eight hours afterward, and the results should be ready after two to three weeks." I shake my head.

"Are there any risks?"

"Miscarriage. It happens in about one and two to four hundred cases." She sees our conflicted and worried faces. "You don't have to decide now. Go home, talk about it. Think about it. Call me by next week to give me an answer and we'll get you an appointment. Okay?" I nod, still feeling numb.

Embry and I don't say anything the entire ride back to his house. We found out something major today. And to say that neither of us is processing this well would be a massive understatement.

When we finally make our way into Embry's house, his mother, Tiffany, greets me warmly with a hug. We exchange small talk, get to know each other. And I eat food. I don't bring up what we learned at the doctor's today. I want to wait until Mom and Nana are here until we do that.

They arrive at four-thirty and immediately, Mom senses something is off with me.

"What happened? Is the baby okay?" she asks me. I look up at her and my eyes fill up with tears. Mom helps me walk over to the kitchen table and me, her, Embry, Nana, and Tiffany sit around the table while Embry and I explain everything that went down today.

"What are you thinking?" Tiffany asks as she looks at me with sympathy. I shake my head, feeling numb. Like I was given a mental Novocain and can't feel any emotion.

"I don't know. On one hand, I want to know if we'll have a baby with special needs. That way I can prepare. I can educate myself. I can do everything I need to prepare for a special needs baby. But on the other hand, there's a risk that I can lose the baby. There are risks either way."

"Would you consider terminating the pregnancy, if it does come back that the baby has special needs?"

"Angela!" Nana exclaims in horror.

"What? It's a valid question. I'm not saying that she should, I'm just asking if she would." I take a deep breath and let it out.

"Honestly? No. Not at this point. I'm already attached to him or her. I couldn't."

"Sweetheart," Nana takes my hand in hers. "I know that this is tough. But what would a procedure like that change? Nothing. You'll find out anyway when the baby is born. There are too many risks involved here. By doing the amnio, you risk losing the baby. If the doctor said it wasn't life-threatening, then you should just let it be." I look at Embry and he gives my other hand a squeeze.

"Whatever you decide, I'll support you," he tells me. And that was the best thing he could have said.

Dinner goes by in a blur. I don't decide anything, but I do get to know Tiffany and Embry a little more. I learn that she's originally from the Makah tribe, but she moved here when she got pregnant with Embry. That Embry's father was never apart of the picture. That she is the co-owner of my new job at Belle's Diner along with Elle.

After dinner, when Mom, Nana, and I have finally made it home, I make my way up to my room where I throw on a pair of my most hole-filled sweatpants with an old band t-shirt and lay on my bed. Then I call Paul.

"Hey," he answers. He sounds like he just woke up.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry," I tell him.

"Nah, I'm just tired. Sam has been kicking my ass with these patrols. It's almost like he wants me to die from exhaustion." I smile.

"With everything that's gone on today, I almost forgot that you guys are… ya know." I don't want to say it in case Mom or Nana are close by and can hear me.

"What do you mean? What happened?" And just like that, I burst into tears and start to sob uncontrollably while I tell Paul everything.

"And I just don't know what to do! I feel like this is my first parenting test and I'm failing!" I sob when I'm finished.

"I'm sorry you're going through this, Auttie. I wish I could see into the future and tell you what the right decision is." I stop sobbing for a moment.

"Did you just call me Auttie?"

"Um…" I can practically see him backtracking, as if he hadn't realized that he called me that. "Yeah, I guess I did. Do you prefer I not call you that?" I shake my head and then realize that he can't see me.

"No, it's fine. I just… I always thought that my name was one of those names that can't be shortened, ya know?" I sigh heavily as my heart flutters. For some reason, I like it when he calls me Auttie. It's cute.

"What do you think I should do?" I ask him.

"I wish I could tell you what to do, Auttie. But it's not my place." I bite my lip in disappointment.

"I know, I just wish that somebody would give me advice. This is the first big parenting decision that I'll have to make, and I don't want to do it alone."

"What did Embry say? Does he think you should get the amnio?"

"He's no help. He told me that whatever I decide, he'll be okay with. And I know that he's not trying to overstep, but this is one of those times when I need a second opinion… besides my grandmother's. She told me that it's not worth the risk. But..."

"I think that you're just looking for someone to tell you that it's okay if you want to get the amnio." He's right, I realize. I already know that I want to do the amnio. If I don't, I'll be worried sick, full of anxiety for the rest of the pregnancy. This is something that I want to do to save myself the anxiety. But I was so worried that if something went wrong, everyone would blame me.

"If something went wrong, and I lost the baby… do you think Embry would forgive me?"

"Of course. It wouldn't be your fault. It's just something that needs to be done for your peace of mind. And, odds are, nothing bad will happen." I take a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay. I'm going to do the amnio. I'll call the doctor tomorrow."

"Good. Now you should get to bed. You've had a long day." I laugh lightly.

"You should too. You sound like you're gonna pass out." He echoes my laugh.

"Yeah, I just might. I'll talk to you later?" I nod.

"Yeah," I answer, my heart feeling full with gratitude. "Goodnight, Paul."

"Goodnight, Auttie."

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? So I know that you guys want to see more scenes with Autumn and Paul, and I promise that as the story goes on, you'll be seeing more of him. But this book is more like the story of Autumn and Embry and their journey, while the second book (that will focus on life after Autumn gives birth) will be the story of her and Paul. I hope that makes sense. Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	13. 13 Weeks 3 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

 **A/N: For those who don't know I had originally posted this chapter a week or so ago and the chapter had gone very differently. This is a re-write of "13 Weeks 3 Days".**

Autumn's P.O.V.

Thanksgiving has never been that big of a deal in the Lee household. Back when we lived in Vegas, we would go out to this sushi place that we all love and then go and see a movie (usually a romcom or a thriller, Mom and I usually prefer a horror flick, but Nana won't have any of that). But this year is different. Now that I'm pregnant, Nana, Mom, and I can't just do our own thing. We have a whole new family to get to know. And what better way to do that than to gather for Thanksgiving and eat a bunch of food?

"I think that we should tell my mom and grandma," I tell Embry over the phone that morning. I struggle to make my bed while holding my cell phone in between my cheek and shoulder.

"What do you mean?" he questions. I can already tell that he's been eating. His mouth sounds like it's full of food.

"Can you stop smacking your lips? It's annoying the hell out of me," I tell him. "And what I mean, is that we should tell them about the whole you-can-turn-into-a-wolf thing."

"Autumn, you know we can't do that." I scoff as I finish smoothing out my blanket and flop down on the mattress.

"Why not? It's not like they're gonna tell anybody else. It's just so I don't have to lie to them."

"You're not technically lying to them," Embry points out. I roll my eyes.

"Lying by omission is lying just the same." He sighs.

"Look, we don't go around telling just anybody. The only people who are allowed to know are our close family and our im—" He cuts off abruptly, not finishing his sentence.

"And your what?" I question.

"Look, the point is that only a select number of people are allowed to know. The reason I told you is because you're having my child. There's no reason why Angie and Andie need to know."

"Well, they're gonna think that it's pretty fucked up when you're "mysteriously" disappearing to who knows where in the next two days. They're gonna expect you to stay by my side, but I already know that Sam's got you patrolling throughout the day." My amniocentesis is scheduled for tomorrow morning. After that, I'll have to stay on bed rest for forty-eight hours, and (understandably so) my mom and Nana will expect Embry to stay by my side in those two days following the procedure. "And I know you're gonna say that you don't care if they think badly of you because of that, but I do. You're the father of my baby, I don't want two of the most important people in my life to dislike you. Plus, you're starting that new job next week, so it's not like you can say that it's a work thing because I already told them that you're starting next week."

"I don't think it's a good idea. And it's not just up to me. I'd have to talk to the rest of the guys about it, too." I let out a breath, knowing that that is the best I'm gonna get right now.

"Okay. But please ask them right now. If it is okay, then I want my mom and grandma to know before the procedure tomorrow. I hate lying to them."

"I will, promise." We say goodbye and I hang up the phone. I absentmindedly rub my stomach. My little peanut. I don't even know if they're a boy or a girl yet, but somehow I feel like I know them already.

I'm alone in the house right now. Mom is working until nine tonight and Nana went out to brunch with Bruce. They seem to be getting pretty serious. I wonder when she's going to introduce us to him. She's been single for as long as I can remember and it'd be nice to see her get married and be happy. I don't think she's ever been in love since before Papa Vincent died before Mom was born.

It's only eleven in the morning and I don't have to be at Emily and Sam's house until four so I decide to take some time to clean the house. I rearrange my books in order of author, I dust my furniture and vacuum the floor. Then I move to the rest of the house. I do laundry, sweep and mop the floors. I do the dishes wipe the counters and dust the furniture. Just a deep clean that the house really needs. After, I debate on if I should go up to the attic and organize Mom and Nana's papers. It's a big job and I'm not sure if I have the energy for it. But I look at my phone and see that it's only twelve-thirty. I have more than enough time to do this.

I sigh as I walk up the attic stairs and flip the light switch on. The place is nearly empty save for five big bins full of papers.

I sit down and pull up one of the bins. Inside is a bunch of my baby pictures and pictures of me growing up. They're just random from different ages and at different events. Me at my fifth grade chorus concert. Hannah and I dressed as zombies for Halloween when we were eleven. Me opening presents at Christmas when I was five. I find an old digital camera from about two or three years ago. Surprisingly, I'm still able to turn it on, it's got five percent battery left, and I look through the photos. I took pictures of Hannah, of Hannah's dog among other things. Then I find a video of myself. I'm standing in my old living room, and I find that I remember this. Mom and Nana were at work at the time and I was home alone with Hannah after school. And I watch as I sing the Star-Spangled Banner. Mom always told me that I have a beautiful voice and I've always loved singing. After that, the camera dies and I put it back into the bin.

I organize the photos into stacks and put the top back on. I move through each box and organize the contents inside. But then I come across a smaller lockbox. It has a four digit combination lock. I shake it and hear a bunch of papers or something rattling around in there. I look at the lock and think. What could the combo be? I try my mom's birthday: 0609. Nope. I try Nana's birthday: 0519. Nada. I try my birthday: 0315. Not a chance. I think long and hard. What combination of numbers is the key? What is important to Mom? Other than myself, obviously. Then it's like a lightbulb goes off over my head and I know. I try 0622. The lock opens. 0622. June twenty-second, nineteen-eighty-nine. The day I was conceived. Mom told me that she knew exactly because her and Mark had only ever done it three times. And the last time before that was several months earlier. I can't blame her for keeping that day in her head. I still remember the day I conceived my little peanut. I open the box and on the top, there's something that I don't expect to see: my birth certificate. I frown a little, thinking it's a little weird that Mom would have my birth certificate locked in a safe. I've never seen it before. Any time it was needed Mom always had it and handled it.

I shake my head and put it aside without paying too much attention to it. I then find an old sonogram photo.

 _Lee, Angela  
July 29, 1989  
7w3d_

I look at the sonogram photo and see what looks to be my mother's uterus when she was seven weeks pregnant. And on it I see a little blob that doesn't even look human. Just like a clump of cells. And at first I think it's me, but then I notice something next to it. An identical blob. My heart skips a beat as I think about what this means. What the hell? Is this some sort of joke? I throw the sonogram down and quickly look at my birth certificate.

 _Child's Name: Autumn Hope Lee  
Gender: Female  
Twin_

Twin? What the fuck? Downstairs, I hear the front door close. I hurriedly stuff everything back into the lockbox and then grab the box and hurry out of the attic, closing the door behind me. I hear Nana's voice from downstairs, announcing to me that she's home. I hide the lockbox in the one place I knew my mom wouldn't think to look: in a hidden corner of my bookshelf, right behind my copy _Pride and Prejudice_ and _Harry Potter._ Mom doesn't like to read. She says that she gets bored too easily to be able to focus on a book for more than a few pages.

"How was your date with Bruce?" I question Nana when I walk into the living room. She's sitting on the couch, reading a book. She absolutely knows about the huge-ass secret Mom's been hiding. Maybe I should mention the word "twin" and see how she reacts. Maybe I should see what she knows. Nana looks up from her book and to me, smiling.

"It was really good. Every time I go out with him I think that there's nothing else I can learn about him, but then he goes and surprises me," she says. I sit down next to her. I can just bring it up. I have to lead up to it.

"So…tell me about him."

"He's only a couple years older than me. His wife, Lucille, died ten years ago from a heart attack. He has three children and seven grandchildren. One of his grandkids is your age. Maybe you've met her? Her name is Brenna Thomas." My eyebrows raise so high that they almost leave my forehead. That's a plot twist I never saw coming.

"Yeah. She's kind of a bitch."

"Autumn!" Nana exclaims, giving a disapproving look. I shrug my shoulders defensively.

"What?! She is! She basically called me a slut because she found out that I'm pregnant. And then she went and spread it around school." She gives me an exhausted look.

"While that is wrong, please don't let her get a rise out of you. Bruce is important to me and I don't want our granddaughters to be fighting." I sigh and run a hand through my hair.

"Okay. I'll do my best to stay out of her way. But when will Mom and I be meeting Bruce?" Nana smirks.

"Oh, I don't know. It's still early and I want to be sure that it's going to work out before I introduce you." I smile.

"If you say so. But I hope it's soon. I want to meet him." Nana gives me one last smile before turning back to her book. I can't do it. I can't . I need to find more information on this before I tell Mom or Nana. If I don't then they could both easily brush me off.

So I go back up to my room and call the only people I can trust with this: Marnie, Jade, and Paul. Hopefully, with their help, I can get to the bottom of this.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? This chapter is a re-post, the original have been taken down by me. So, this chapter had originally gone very differently with everything being brought up out of the blue and randomly. And I realized that I can't just do it that way and I have to lead up to it. So I rewrote the chapter. Also, I'll be revealing the gender of the baby soon. Within the next couple of chapters, because when doing an amniocentesis they can also find out the gender of the child. So if you haven't voted for what you think the gender of the baby should be, then do so asap. There's a poll on my profile. Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	14. 13 Weeks 5 Days

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

"Knock, knock!" Marnie and Jade don't wait for an answer before the walk into my room. They're carrying bags filled with shit and they both give off the vibe that they're acting extra happy so that I stay in a good mood.

"Hey, guys," I mutter as they come to a stop beside my bed.

"So," Jade starts, "I brought you the newest _Harry Potter_ book, curtesy of my employee discount. We also brought you candy and chips to snack on and some fuzzy socks because it is getting colder outside by the second." I give them a small smile and sit up a little in bed, making sure that I have pillows to support my back. The amnio was yesterday and I'm still a little sore.

"Thanks, guys. It means a lot. Though I wish you'd brought real food. It's nine-thirty in the morning and I'm starving." Marnie gives me a sympathetic look.

"I told Jade that we should bring you something from Elle's Café, but she insisted that you would have eaten already."

"Sorry, babe. I honestly thought your mom or grandma would have fed you or something." I shake my head.

"It's okay. Maybe you can make me a bowl of cereal instead?" Jade nods.

"Of course, babe. I'll be back in a second." Jade leaves and Marnie sits at the edge of a bed.

"So… where's Embry?" she questions me. I let out a long breath and rub my forehead. Embry is a touchy subject for me right now.

"Still no calls. Like…at all. I know that Sam has him working a lot, but you'd think that he'd at least call me, ya know? I mean, I just had a long ass needle stabbed into my uterus and there's a chance that I could have a miscarriage. But…whatever." Marnie rolls her brown eyes, obviously annoyed.

"No. Not "whatever". He should be here. Or at least call! You're pregnant with his child and yet he can't even be bothered to take care of you when you just had an amniocentesis."

"Marnie, please. I don't have the energy to deal with this right now. I just want to relax. I'm worried enough as it is." She gives a reluctant nod as Jade walks in followed by Paul.

"I was gonna get you a bowl of cereal but then this guy showed up with food." As soon as I see the bag of food from his mom's café, I smile widely.

"This is my friend, Paul Lahote. Paul, these are my friends, Marnie Pritchett and Jade Ross." They exchange short greetings before Jade grabs her purse.

"We'll leave you to it," she says. "We're gonna go see a movie. And then we'll stop by here again later today." I nod and roll my eyes at the look she's giving me. It's a look that says that she thinks that I'm lucky that Paul came because he's hot.

"Bye." When they're gone I turn back to Paul. "You didn't need to bring me anything." He gives me a knowing look.

"I wanted to. Plus my mom practically shoved this in my face and forced me to bring it to you." He hands me the bag of food where a delicious aroma of food is wafting towards me. I open the bag and find a bacon-egg-and-cheese roll with ketchup and pepper and salt. My mouth waters and it reminds me of something that I had when Mom, Nana, and I visited Upstate New York. Those things are a delicacy over there. With it is a box filled with apple turnovers and cannolis. I look up at Paul and my eyes fill with tears. I don't know why—maybe it's the pregnancy hormones—but I find that I like him a whole lot more now that he's brought me my favorite breakfast of all time.

"Thank you," I tell him sincerely. He gives me a big smile. "How did you know that these were my favorite?"

"I was talking with your mom and grandma yesterday after you got home from the doctor. I mentioned that I wanted to do something nice for you and asked what your favorite foods are and they told me." I smile and then that smile turns sour as I'm hit with a huge wave of guilt. The thing that's in the back of my head that I've hidden for a while now. I don't talk about it at all, in fact nobody but me knows and sometimes I even forget about it. But being with Paul…well…I don't want him to get his hopes up. So I have to tell him.

"Hey, listen," I tell him. "So, you made it clear that you like me when you asked me out a little while ago. But you should know…well…I'm demiromantic." At first he doesn't respond. Then after a moment he looks extremely confused, which is understandable. Very few people know about it. "It basically means that I can't feel romantic attraction towards someone unless I have a deep personal connection with them. And it means that I'm not really looking for romantic love. At least not right now. I really want to give you a chance, Paul, I really do. I think you're a good guy, but I can't bring myself to feel any sort of romantic attraction towards you. Which, of course, means that I don't really want to go on a date with you. And I don't want to seem like I'm leading you on." I'm rambling now. I do that whenever I'm nervous. And I feel bad. Because I'm sexually attracted to him. I think he looks really hot. But it's not a crush. It's more like I'd have a one-night-stand with him…ya know, if I weren't already pregnant. And I think that maybe I've messed up with Paul. Maybe now that he knows that he may never have a chance with me, he wont want to hang out anymore. But nope. He puts his hand over mine and squeezes gently.

"It's okay." My eyebrows go up. What?

"Really?" He shrugs.

"Okay, so I'm not gonna pretend that it's a little discouraging. But I like you for you. And even if you're not there yet, I'm willing to wait."

"But you understand that it could be years before I ever see you as more than a friend, right?"

"I'm here for you. Whether if it's as a friend or more. The fact that you want to be around me is good enough." Okay. That is not what I expected him to say. I kind of thought that he'd not want to hang around me anymore. My thoughts must be giving me away since he says, "Just because our relationship can't be a romantic one, doesn't mean that I'm gonna stop hanging out with you. You've got more to offer than just being a girlfriend or whatever." My nerves ease up when he says that and a huge weight lifts off my shoulders.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that." And then just like that, we go back to normal.

"So when did you realize that you're demiromantic?" Paul questions me at around lunch time.

"When I was fifteen," I tell him. "A boy at school asked me out and I said yes because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. But then as I thought about it, I knew that I was not attracted to him at all. And then there were times when my friend Hannah and I would be talking and she would bring up how she had crushes on celebrities and other boys in our school. I've never had a crush on anybody before. I've never been in a relationship. I don't have any desire to enter into a relationship. But it wasn't until I was looking up terms online that I found the correct term. And when I did, it finally made sense. I mean…I could go my entire life without ever entering into a relationship and be perfectly happy."

"But it's not the same with sexual relationships?" I shake my head.

"No, obviously, or else I wouldn't be pregnant. I can be sexually attracted to someone just like any other non-ace person. Though I'm not sure if I'm the best judge of character considering I hooked up with Embry."

"What do you mean?"

"I just got an amniocentesis and Embry hasn't even called to see if I was okay. I know that Sam has him patrolling and stuff. But it would have taken him like two minutes to call and check up on me." Paul stiffens when I say this. "What's wrong?" It's like his whole demeanor changed.

"I have to go," he says quickly. What the hell?

"What? Why?" Paul stands up and heads towards my door.

"I can't say right now, but I'll explain another time. Okay?" I sigh and nod. I can't expect him to stay with me all day. It's not even his baby. "I'll stop by again later. Get some rest, okay? You and the baby need it." I smile softly as he leaves, but it doesn't last long. Now this is another thing I have to add to my plate of things that I need to figure out.

But right now all I want to do is sleep. I'm so tired from all this worrying and some sleep should do me good. So I snuggle under my covers and close my eyes. Wondering why Embry's ignoring me all of a sudden, and why Paul rushed out of my room, knowing that I'll get answers soon enough.

 **A/N: What did you guys think? So I hadn't originally planned on making Autumn demiromantic, but I think it suits her. And it would make a lot of sense for the character. Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	15. 18 Weeks

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

The results take longer than expected to be ready and I find myself waiting in the examination room on the morning of Christmas eve, waiting for Doctor Smith to read me the results. They're only open until one in the afternoon on Christmas eve so I had to wake up early to do this.

The only problem? Embry isn't here. My heart aches and I'm really disappointed that he's not here to hear an important set of results about our baby. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. I've only heard from him once in the last month. One phone call to tell me that he wouldn't be able to make it to the monthly ob appointment because of a "personal emergency" or whatever. I cried last night when I heard from Paul that Embry wouldn't be coming to this appointment either. I know that it's still early on in the pregnancy, but I can't help but feel like I'll end up in the same situation Mom was in. Embry said that he'd be there, but here I am. Receiving the news on if our baby has chromosomal abnormalities alone.

"Good morning, Autumn," Doctor Smith greets me as she walks through the door. "I hope you're having a great Christmas so far." I smile at her even though it's the last thing I want to do.

"It's been okay. Can we please just get to the results? I've been waiting for a month and I think my nerves have had it." She nods and then looks around a bit and I know what's coming.

"Where's Embry? I thought he'd want to be here."

"He's busy." I'm starting to get irritated now. I just want the damn answer. Doctor Smith looks like she doesn't believe me but doesn't question it.

"Okay." She opens an envelope and looks it over. "The results have come back negative. You're baby is one hundred percent healthy." A huge weight is lifted off my shoulders and I let out a breath of relief. My baby is healthy. It's not like having a child with special needs would have been the worst thing. But it would have been challenging, especially since it looks like I might have to do this on my own. "On that note," she continues, "would you also like to find out the sex today?" I raise my eyebrows at her.

"I thought that I wouldn't be able to find out until twenty weeks," I say, confused.

"Well, an amnio is also a very accurate way to determine the sex of a baby. I have the results if you want to hear them." Do I want to know? I thought I'd have more time to decide. And, of course, I thought that Embry would be here to find out with me. He'd be upset with me if he found out that I found out without him. But you know what? I don't care anymore. He's been avoiding me for a month. He didn't come with me to any doctors appointments in the last month. If he isn't here to find out the sex of our child, then it's his own fault. I want to know. This way I can pick out a name in advance and I can start buying clothes and stuff.

"Okay. Yeah, I'd like to know."

Twenty minutes later I pull into my driveway feeling happy. My happiness is apparently written all over my face, because when I walk into the house, Mom mutes the tv, and gives me a look.

"The baby's healthy?" she questions. Nana comes from the kitchen, looking just as interested as Mom. I nod my head, and they both come to hug me.

"I knew everything would turn out okay in the end," Mom tells me as we go to sit on the couch. I smile wider and give out a relaxed sigh.

"I know. It's just good to know for sure…I also found out the sex today." Mom and Nana's eyes widen as they become excited.

"Really!? What is it?!" I tell them and Mom squeals out in excitement. She puts her hands on my stomach and squeals again. My stomach, while still small, has gotten a lot bigger over the last month. And while I can still hide my stomach with big, baggy sweatshirts, if I were to wear a regular t-shirt, it'd be quite obvious that I'm pregnant.

"This is so exciting! We've got to start picking out names!" I laugh and shake my head.

"Hold on, Mom! I just found out the sex! And I have more than four months to decide on a name. I want to take my time deciding it."

"Well, what does Embry think?" Nana questions. And just like that, my good mood goes out the window.

"Embry didn't come to the appointment," I tell them, a sour note to my voice. Their good moods goes out the window, too.

"Again?" Mom questions. "Autumn…" I know that tone in her voice.

"Mom, please—"

"No, let me say this. I know that you and Embry are just kids, still. But that doesn't give Embry the right to bow out of his responsibilities to you and this baby. You can't force him, but you need to confront him and tell him straight out what you expect from him. Tell him, and then tell him to either step up or step out. Because you don't need him leading you on and getting your hopes up just to disappoint you every time."

"You're mother is right, Autumn," Nana cuts in. "You need to know, one way or the other, if he's truly committed to you and this baby." I know that they're right. If I confront Embry, at least I'll have my answer, whatever that may be. I nod.

"Okay. I'll confront Embry. I was planning to stop by Sam and Emily's house for a few minutes later anyway. I'll do it then." I give Mom one more hug before heading up to my room. My back has been really sore lately and I just need to lay down for a little while. Maybe it'll feel better after a nap.

* * *

I wake up a few hours later, snuggled under my blankets, and with my back feeling better. I rub my stomach, silently greeting my little peanut. I know your sex. Now I just have to name you.

I get out of bed, having something for lunch, and then head out to Sam and Emily's house. The whole way there, I go over what I'm going to say. Trying to work up my courage. But I find that my heart is fluttering in my chest and I have a sick feeling in my stomach. I hate confrontations. I just wish that I could call him and ask. But for me to do that, he'd actually have to answer my calls.

I pull my car into Emily's driveway and turn it off. Okay. I can do this. I get out of the car, pulling my new winter jacket tightly around me, as the temperature dropped dramatically over night. And my new jacket has an adjustable waist, so that I'll be able to wear this winter, and next winter, when I'm no longer pregnant.

I walk up to the door, and try the doorknob to find that it's unlocked. When I was here last month with Paul, Emily had told me that I didn't ever need to knock on her door. To just let myself in like I lived there. That I was now family. And I did sort of feel like family…at least with Emily. She's a nice woman not too much older than me who has been nothing but nice to me even though she has no reason to do so. So I'm grateful to her for that.

The second I step inside, I'm overwhelmed by the smell of food cooking. It's the most delicious food that I've ever smelled and I want some of it so badly. But I have to talk with Embry first. I take my coat off and hang it on the coat rack and smooth down my dress. My dress is black and goes down to my mid-thigh, and is decorated with gingerbread men, Christmas trees, candy canes, mittens, and ornaments. Under it, I'm wearing thick white stockings and boots.

I make my way from the foyer to the dining room, where I find a shit-ton of people gathered around the dining room table. Their plates are filled and they're laughing and talking. They look like one big, happy family. And there is Embry, looking healthy. And looking happy, with his arms draped over a girl. A very pretty girl with long, dark hair. And when I see them share a kiss, my heart breaks. Not because of jealousy, but because I now know the reason why Embry hasn't been keeping in touch with me. This girl, whoever she is, is obviously his girlfriend. And of course he wouldn't want to tell her about him having knocked up another girl, so he just decided to ignore me.

Paul is the one to notice me first, and when he does, he stops eating. He looks back and forth between Embry and I, and makes the connection. His face fills with sympathy, but that only annoys me.

"Autumn," he says loud enough for everyone to hear. The whole room goes quiet as everyone turns to look at me. And when Embry sees me, his eyes widen, as if he's just remembered that I existed. He stands up from his seat and reaches out to me, but his face tells me that he's not sure what to do. How to explain.

"Autumn," he greets hesitantly. "What are you doing here?" I'm unable to look him in the eyes, and just stare down at my feet. How can I look at him?

"Emily invited me the other day. When I was here with Paul," I answer.

"You were here with Paul?" A spark of anger and annoyance rushes through me, and I look up at him.

"Well I certainly wasn't here with you, was I?" I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I thought I was strong enough to do this, but I can't. Not in front of everyone else. Not in front of Embry's new girlfriend. "Look, I didn't mean to interrupt. You guys are having family time, I shouldn't get in the way."

"Don't," Paul says. He also stands. "You can stay. We have plenty of room and plenty of food." I smile over at him, appreciative of his kindness.

"No, it's fine. We can always hang out tomorrow or the next day. And besides, my back is sore and I really would like to lay down and watch movies right now."

"No! Paul's right. Stay here. We can set you up in the living room with some food. We can put a movie on. We have _The Polar Express_ ," Embry pleads. My annoyance comes back.

"Why would I do that?" I look at him in disbelief. "So that after you spend a few hours with me and feel better about yourself, you can go back to ignoring me? To hang out with your new girlfriend?" I know that I'm making a scene, but ya know what? I don't care. I'm pregnant and I'm tired and I just want Embry to be upfront and honest with me.

"Yeah… this is—" I hold up my hand, cutting him off.

"I'm sure she's a great girl. But if she's the reason why you're not showing up to any of my doctor's appointments, then I really don't want to talk about her right now." I rub my temples as I feel everyone's eyes on me. "Look, if you don't want to be a part of my life, or this baby's life, then fine. Be that way. But you'd better let me know pretty soon if that's the case. Because if you don't decide, I'll decide for you." I turn to leave, but then remember. I look back at Embry one last time.

He's standing there, undecided. Like he doesn't know what he wants. Like he wants to tell me something, but he can't. I dunno, and right now, I don't care. But I have to tell him. He needs to know.

"I got the results from the amnio today. He's healthy," I tell Embry. And then, without waiting for a reply, I turn around, grab my jacket, and leave the house.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	16. 19 Weeks

**I DO NOW OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

 **A/N: So I know it's been a few months since I posted an actual chapter for this story. I honestly had writer's block and my mental health hasn't really helped. But I'm going to try to upload more often.**

* * *

"Do you think I'm being unreasonable?" I question Marnie and Jade as I set down slices of apple pie in front of the both of them. Jade scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"Absolutely not," she tells me. "You didn't make that baby on your own and it's not unreasonable to expect that you won't have to raise it alone, either." Marnie takes a bite of pie and says,

"Agreed. You're under enough stress as it is. You don't need Embry playing games with you."

"But what if he says that he doesn't want to help?"

"Then kick his ass to the curb," Archer cuts in as he walks past me, on his way to clock in. Archer Harrison is a co-worker of mine who seems to always work the same shifts as I do. He's a couple years older than us, and is a quirky gay guy who doesn't give a fuck that people stare at his electric blue hair and eyebrow piercing. He's kinda awesome.

"And then how am I gonna get any help?" I call out to him.

"Shoot him in the dick, how else?" I know he's being sarcastic, and Jade snorts into her iced tea. "You can have full custody and still get child support. You just have to go to a custody lawyer. Make a case that you don't believe that mister "my-abs-make-up-for-my-ignorance" can be a good parent."

"Or you can just ask him to give up his parental rights," Jade adds. I make my way away from them and start to clean up the table a few feet away, picking up the five dollar tip they had left.

"Do you guys really think Embry would ever do that?" I ask. I doubt he would. He just seems like someone who would try to get custody of a child he doesn't even really want. Marnie shrugs.

"He might. You said that he has a new girlfriend. If it's so serious that a guy who originally wanted to step up and be a parent, slack off, then he might consider it so that he can start over with the girl."

"But I think that Angie is right," Jade says. "You and Embry need to sit down and have a long discussion about what is going on and what is going to happen. You're nearly halfway through the pregnancy and on the off chance that your son comes early, this needs to be sorted out as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I know," I whisper. I take all the dirty plates and cups to the back to be washed, and come out with a rag and wipe the table down, setting the condiments and stuff back in the middle of the table. My mind is running wild with everything that I should do and everything I want to do and I don't know where to start.

* * *

Business starts to pick up heavily by the time Archer and I get off and I'm grateful that I won't have to deal with the crowd of people who plan to watch the ball drop while eating food and drinking wine and coffee.

Instead, Archer and I pick up Marnie, Jade, and Paul in my car and head over to my house where we cook pigs in a blanket, nachos, wings, and brownies and drink sparkling cider out of plastic champagne glasses while watching the New Years Eve special on the news channel. Mom's working over night and Nana has decided to spend the night with Bruce (which I'm trying not to think too hard about, because eww) and so we have the house to ourselves.

"So tell me again, why you wont just ask your mom about this twin thing," Archer questions as he stuffs his face with brownies.

"Because my mother is the most evasive person on the planet when it comes to things that she doesn't want to talk about. She'd make up excuses until she couldn't anymore."

"Your mother seems pretty reasonable," Paul tells me. "Just confront her. Don't take no for an answer." I wish it were that easy, but I'm afraid to do that. I've never gotten in a fight with my mom. We've always gotten along, and, besides getting pregnant, I've never anything bad enough for her to get mad at me. I don't want to ruin our relationship. I voice these concerns to my friends.

"Look, if she's keeping secrets from you, then your relationship is already in trouble," Jade says. "And if you find out later on that you have some secret sibling, and you hear it from someone other than her, you know you won't forgive her. Make that clear when you talk to her."

"And if it goes badly," Archer cuts in, his mouth stuffed with brownie, "my couch pulls out into a bed…ya know, if you need a place to stay." I snort and roll my eyes.

"Thanks," I tell him.

The next few hours go by fast. We eat and laugh and have a good time. I tell the story of how, on new year's day in two-thousand-two, Mom came home so drunk she forgot who I was. She cried when I reminded her that I was her daughter, and sobbed about how she thought she'd never have kids because god would punish her for smoking weed.

Five minutes before midnight, I find myself sitting on the couch with Paul, I'm drinking a cup of hot chocolate and he's just finished eating his food.

"Tell me something about yourself," he requests, holding his head up with his hand, and obviously trying not to fall asleep. I smile at his sleepy face. He's cute, there's no denying that.

"Like what?" He shrugs.

"Tell me something that not a lot of people know about you." I smirk and think for a moment.

"I'm a good singer," I tell him. His eyebrows shoot up and I can immediately see the interest in his face.

"Really?" I nod.

"I was in chorus all throughout middle school and I even participated in a couple of talent shows."

"Did you win?"

"Once, when I was fourteen. I sung "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys. It's my favorite song." Paul's smiling now and looking at me with an expression I can't read.

"Can you sing something for me?"

"For us," Archer corrects as he comes back from the bathroom. Archer sits in the armchair while Marnie and Jade sit on the loveseat. I shake my head and shoot Paul a look.

"See what you started?" I tell him. "I don't feel like it right now. It's almost midnight, and as soon as we clean up, I'm going to sleep."

"Please?" Paul's practically begging now. I don't know why he wants me to sing so badly. Luckily, I'm saved by Archer shouting,

"Thirty seconds!" At the same time a wolf howling sounds out so loudly that I wouldn't be surprised if they heard it in Seattle. And I know what that means: Paul has to go. Sam needs him for whatever reason and I'm disappointed that he won't be able to stay for at least five more minutes. But it could be something serious, so I don't complain when he gives me an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Auttie," he says. I shake my head.

"It's fine. Go." We both stand up, and I follow him to the front door.

"Ten, nine, eight!" I hear my friends shout from the living room. I open the door for him and he steps out into the cold. "Seven, six, five."

"Be safe," I tell him. And he smiles.

"Always." He turns to go, but for some reason I just don't want to leave him with nothing.

"Four, three."

"Hey, Paul?" He turns back around, and clearly doesn't expect what happens next.

"Two, one!" I stand on tip toe, and press a quick peck to Paul's lips. It only lasts less than a second, but it still feels good. And when I step back, my lips are tingling a little, but in a good way. And I feel a smile make it's way onto my face. Paul, however, is so shocked I think he forgot what he was doing.

"Happy new year," I whisper, knowing he can hear me. And as I close the door, I see him smile like he found out he won the lottery or something.

And I smile like some stupid school girl you see in one of those romcom movies. But I think I'm just happy that I actually got to kiss someone on New Year's.

But, I think as I make my way back to the living room, nobody needs to know that. Especially not Embry.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	17. 19 Weeks 1 Day, Part 1

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

Archer, Marnie, and Jade end up sleeping over my house that night. Archer sleeps on my bed while Marnie, Jade, and I share Nana's king-sized bed that she's had for longer than I've been alive. And later that morning, when they've all left and I'm left to my own devices, I decide that today's the day. I can't put it off anymore. I need to find out what Mom's hiding from me. There's really no reason to put it off any longer, and it can't hurt to try.

So while she's sleeping in her room, I clean the entire kitchen top to bottom, knowing that a clean kitchen will put her in a good mood. Then I get to work on making her something for brunch. I make her favorite food: French toast. It's been her favorite since she was a little girl, and I'm pretty sure that's all I ate while I was in her womb.

By the time she walks into the kitchen at eleven-thirty, her hair in a messy ponytail, and her clothes all wrinkled, I am just finishing the final batch of French toast.

"Damn, that smells good," she says as a way of greeting. She heads to the coffee maker and pours herself a cup of freshly brewed coffee. "What's the occasion?"

"I just wanted to start the new year off right. Plus you worked hard yesterday, so you deserve a nice breakfast," I tell her. She must still be out of it, because she doesn't even question my lame excuse, and sits down at the table after she pours creamer into her coffee. I turn the stove off and then grab two plates and two forks from the cabinets and serve the both of us some food.

We eat in silence for a few minutes, her still half asleep, and me anxious about confronting her. All through brunch, I debate on how to start the conversation, and decide to ease into it. If I bombard her, she'll get defensive and I won't get any information out of her.

"Ya know, Mom," I begin, "on Thanksgiving, I was up in the attic organizing those boxes filled with pictures and stuff." She mutters something incoherent, probably just so that I would know that she's listening. I reach behind the vase where I had stashed the lockbox I'd found, and pull it out. Her eyes immediately lock onto it and she stops eating.

"I found this in one of the boxes. And I figured out the combination, and when I looked inside, I found my birth certificate." I open the box and retrieve my birth certificate, unfold it, and show it to her, pointing to where it says "twin". "Why does it say here that I'm a twin?" She doesn't answer for a long moment, clearly shocked at what I'm showing her. I put it down and show her the sonogram photo. "And why does this sonogram photo show two embryos instead of one?" Again, I reach into the box to pick up something I hadn't yet looked at. I unfolded it, and it was a picture with a handwritten note attached to it.

"Autumn, don't—" Mom tries to grab the letter from me, but I hold it out of her reach. But I don't reach it. I know that this letter is gonna tell me everything I need to know, but I don't want to read it yet.

"You have one chance to tell me for yourself what you've been hiding all these years. I'm giving you one chance. And if I have to find out the truth from this letter, you know you're gonna regret it." Her eyes are wide, all thoughts of breakfast forgotten, and I can see her struggling internally on what to do. "Mom!"

She swallows hard, and I can see the panic on her face. After a second more without a response, I let out a humorless laugh and shake my head. I can't believe her. She's still evading the truth. So I turn back to what I carry in my hand.

The picture is an older one, obviously taken in the early nineties. It shows a man and a woman, sitting on a checkered blanket in the middle of a park, smiling into the camera. The woman is beautiful, with smooth pale skin and wildly curly dark hair. The skin around her dark eyes are crinkled because of her smile, and she seems genuinely happy. The man beside her is not what you would think of as traditionally handsome, but he's not ugly either. He looks to be of Asian descent, probably Japanese. His hair is longer than I personally like, the black strands hanging into his eyes and clumps of hair hanging around his neck, just slightly above his shoulders. His almond eyes are dark, and just like the woman's, they're full of happiness. In between them sits…me! No, not me. Just a toddler that looks like me. The toddler looks to be about a year or two old. Her dark hair is up in pigtails, and her hazel eyes are bright and full of laughter, looking off to the side, at something unknown. She looks just like me. Exactly like me. Then I look at the letter and start reading.

 _ **Dear Angela,**_ it reads.

 _ **We hope that all is going well with you! It's been a while since the adoption, and we know that you said you didn't want any pictures, but we couldn't resist! Tabi is two years old now, which is so crazy! Of course you knew that, but Connor and I still have a hard time coming to terms that our little girl is no longer a baby anymore. It seems like just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital.**_

 _ **She learned how to walk just a few months ago, and it seems like we can't get her to stop! She's running anywhere she can, and has us on our toes every moment of the day. She's also a healthy eater! She loves vegetables and eats everything on her plate! I never thought I'd say that about a two-year-old, but it's true. And she's talking more and more every day. Her first word was "Momma", much to Connor's disappointment, but that overjoyed me knowing that we had broken that stereotype.**_

 _ **Anyway! How is everyone doing? Is Autumn flourishing just like Tabi? I bet she is. Identical twins seem to mirror each other, even when apart. And you much have just graduated high school last year. Connor and I hope that you are able to follow your dreams to become a photographer, like you told us! And we hope Andrea is doing well, also. She's such a nice woman, I would have liked to get to know her better!**_

 _ **Also, I know that you said that you wanted this to be a closed adoption, and that you were happy with receiving a letter every so often…but I just want to make sure that's still the case. I know that you're not able to take care of two children at the moment, but I think Autumn and Tabi would benefit greatly if they knew each other while growing up. I'd hate to see them go their whole lives without ever meeting each other.**_

 _ **Please write me and let me know if you'd like to get together and allow the girls to bond!**_

 _ **With Love,**_

 _ **Jessica, Connor, and Tabitha Hope Mori**_

As I finish reading the letter, my heart starts to hurt. Not physically, but emotionally. My throat grows tight and my eyes fill with tears. I look up from the letter to see Mom looking at me with a helpless expression.

"Autumn, listen—" she starts, but I cut her off.

"I have a sister…and you never told me?" My voice is thick with tears, as I try to hold in my meltdown. I knew this was coming. I knew it. But actually seeing that picture and reading that letter just… I dunno. It just confirms it all. That my mom, the woman who supposedly told me everything, the woman who I trusted more than anything, hid something so big from me for my whole life. And I had to find out on my own.

"Let me explain! Please, Autumn. Please, just let me explain!" I let out a bitter laugh.

"Explain what? That you've been hiding this from me? That you lied to me?"

"I was sixteen, Autumn! I was so scared about having a baby, but having two? I wouldn't have been able to take care of the both of you!"

"So you separated us?! Why didn't you just give us both to the Mori family?" She looks guilty.

"Because I was selfish. I didn't want to give the both of you up. I knew that I want a baby, but I just couldn't take care of both of you." The tears overflow now.

"And why didn't you ever stay in touch with them? You could have given me the chance to have a relationship with Tabitha! I could have gotten to know her! What were you thinking!" I'm yelling now. I can't even describe how disappointed and angry I am at her now. "And the fact that I had to find all this out on my own! You couldn't even tell me?" I stop short as I remember another detail. "And what about Nana? Did you swear her to secrecy?" The look on her face is answer enough.

Having had enough of this conversation, I get up from the table, and make my way up to my room. When I've slammed my door behind me, I take out my phone, and make a call to the one guy who has room for me. Archer. I don't explain everything to him, just that I need a place to stay for a while. He doesn't hesitate before he gives me his address. And then I'm packing a duffle bag with clothes and toiletries. My laptop and my chargers go on top, and then I zip it up. I put my jacket on, and strap my book bag to my back. Grabbing the duffle, I storm out of my room. I know I must be crazy to run away like this. I know that I'm only seventeen and I'm pregnant and I should just stay with them. But both Mom and Nana lied to me. Straight to my face. And I just can't look at them right now without remembering that.

Mom follows me as I walk to the front door, tears running down her cheeks and a hopeless expression on her face.

"What are you doing?" she questions. I don't look back at her as I answer.

"I'm going to stay at a friend's house for a little while," I tell her.

"Please, Autumn! I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to be! But I made a mistake—!" The front door now open and the icy cold temperatures seeping into the house, I stop short when she says that word. I turn back to look at her, wondering if she's actually serious.

"A mistake?" I shake my head. "A mistake is losing your car keys. You kept my sister from me." Mom starts to talk again, but I shake my head. "I just need to be away from here."

I load my bags into my car, and climb in, feeling a deep sadness settling over me as I drive away. Mom and I have never had a fight before. We've never really had any reason to. Petty bickering? Yes, we've done plenty of that. But never a full blown fight. And the first one we have ended with me staying at someone else's house.

Great. Just great.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!**

 **~Gina**


	18. 19 Weeks 1 Day, Part 2

**I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA**

"That's some Maury type shit," Archer tells me as I help him make up the pullout couch. I pull the clean sheet over the bed.

"I know. I'm honestly in shock, still. I just can't believe she kept this big secret from me." Archer sighs as he throws a blanket and a couple of pillows on the bed.

"So what are you gonna do now?" I shrug as I flop down on the mattress.

"I guess I'm gonna have to start looking for her." I look at myself in the reflection of the tv. Big hazel eyes sit in a square-shaped face. Uneven lips are chapped because I lost my chap stick the other day. And I know that if I were to smile, dimples would appear, the one on my left cheek deeper than the one on my right. My pale olive complexion is blemished by a zit the size of Texas on my jaw that's bothering the hell out of me. And my thick, dark brown hair flows to the small of my back.

Looking at myself now that I know about Tabitha, all I can see is my sister. I wonder what she's like. Does she like _Harry Potter_? Does she know that she's a twin? If so, does she think of me?

"But where do I even start?" I ask no one in particular.

"Did the letter you found have an envelope with an address on it?" I shake my head. "Well, maybe your mom knows." I narrow my eyes.

"Absolutely not. I'm not talking to her."

"But—"

"No buts, Archer. It's been, like, thirty-two minutes since everything happened. I can't look at her without remembering that she lied to me all these years." A knock at the front door draws us out of the conversation. I wonder who it could be since Marnie is babysitting and Jade working, so it can't be anybody Archer knows.

Archer opens the door, and I spot Paul on the other side. my eyebrows rise in surprise. What the hell? How did he even find me here?

"Paul! What are you doing here?" I question as I stand up.

"Yeah, and how do you know where I live?" Archer cuts in.

"I went by your house but your mom said that you had gone to Archer's apartment. So I called Marnie and she gave me an address." I approach the door and Archer goes to his bedroom to give us privacy, but I have a better idea. I don't want Archer to feel like he has to hide in his own place.

"Do you want to take a walk?" A cute little smile appears on his face.

"Yeah, I'd—I'd love to." I flash him a wide smile.

"You're cute when you're flustered." It's true. For some reason, whenever he looks at me, a child-like smile forms on his face. And for some reason, every time he does that, my heart flutters in my chest. I've never had anyone look at me like that before, not even Embry when we conceived little peanut.

"And you're cute when you smile. I have a thing for dimples." A laugh gets stuck in my throat, as per usual whenever I get a complement.

"Oh! Um… uh…" I've never been great at receiving complements. I always feel awkward when getting them and I have no idea what to say in return. Like "Hey you're pretty," and then I reply "Thanks!" while winking with both eyes.

"Look at who's flustered now," Paul retorts lightheartedly. My nerves calm down as I roll my eyes.

"Let's just go, okay?" I grab my jacket and we head out into the wet, cold temperatures of Washington. And as we walk, I take a moment to appreciate everything that Paul has done. He's stuck around and has been nice to me even though I'm pregnant with another guy's baby, and it could be a while before I could ever say that I loved him. He gives me faith that not all guys are like Mark and Embry. And I could honestly see myself getting to know him better.

"So, what happened?" he questions when we're a few blocks from Archer's apartment building. I give him a look. He just dives right in, doesn't he?

"What do you mean?" Now it's his turn to give _me_ a look.

"Well, you're not at your mom's house and you're staying with a coworker. That kinda screams that something happened, right?" I sigh and shake my head.

"After everyone left and my mom had gotten some sleep, I had decided that I needed to confront her then…about the whole possible twin thing."

"What'd she say?"

"Nothing. That's the thing. I found a letter that was from the adoptive family, and I gave my mom one last chance to tell me the truth before I found out for myself. But she didn't. And I read the letter." Paul looks at me with a face that I can't read. I can't tell if he's appalled or angry or sad.

"What did the letter say?" he questions.

"It was just an update about my identical twin sister. How she's doing and how happy her family was to have her. And it also stated that Jessica and Connor Mori, the adoptive parents, would have been more than happy to have an open adoption so that my sister and I could have grown up together. But my mom said no."

"Wow…that—that's tough. I can't believe your mom would do something like that. Keep that hidden for so long." He lets out a long breath and I can tell there's a "but" coming. "But she was only sixteen when it happened, Auttie. Younger than us both, still a kid. Can you really blame her for making a mistake when she was just a scared kid?" I stop abruptly and turn to face him. We're on the side of the road, not a car to be seen but I can hear the rustling of leaves behind me as deer and squirrels run about.

"Sure. I can forgive something that she did when she was a kid, Paul. But she had eighteen years to fix this and she didn't. She just kept lying." I turn back and continue walking, and after a moment, Paul does the same.

"What's her name?" Even though he doesn't say the word "sister" I automatically know who he means.

"Tabitha," I answer. "Tabitha Hope Mori." We walk in silence for a while, neither of us knowing what to say or how to say it. But I'm glad for that. The silence helps me calm down and puts me in a better mood. And the cold air that almost hurts when you breathe in is the only reminder that Spring is still months away. A lot of the snow having melted in a recent "heat" wave and rain storm. More like the temperature raised above fifty-five for about a week, but it's back to freezing cold climates now.

By the time we reach any form of civilization, I'm starving and tired, and it almost feels like fate when I see a diner just a few yards from us. "You wanna get something to eat?" Paul questions. My stomach gurgles in response, and his lips twitch slightly. "I'll take that as a yes." We arrive at the diner, and are seated within ten minutes, and by the time my burrito arrives, I'm salivating at the delicious aromas. I take a huge bite and then, all of a sudden, half of my burrito is gone. Jesus. I'm gonna be the size of an elephant by the time this baby comes.

When I look up to see why Paul's being so quiet, I find that he's looking at me in amusement.

"What?" I question. He shakes his head.

"Nothing. It's just the only other girl I've seen eat like that is Leah, and she's, ya know…" A wolf. I grimace at the fact that's comparing me to someone who turns into a wolf.

"Are you calling me an animal?" His eyes widen as he realizes what he said.

"No! Not at all, I was just…" I let out a breath.

"It's fine, I guess. It's not like it's not true. I literally look like a cow right now." And I honestly mean that. Over the last couple of weeks my stomach has gotten bigger. And while it's definitely not huge, it's still noticeable.

"You look beautiful." Startled, my gaze meets his for a split second before I look away, heat filling my cheeks. Him calling me beautiful sends my heart aflutter, as for some reason it means more coming from him than Embry or even my mother. Even though I know he's lying, it's still sweet.

"I don't. But thanks for saying it anyway." All of a sudden, Paul's hand reaches across the table to grip mine, and by how warm my cheeks feel, I know that I'm blushing. I don't think a boy has ever held my hand before, which is pathetic, I know. But I'm demiromantic. It's on the aromantic spectrum, and I've never really been interested in romantic relationships before. I'm not sure if I am, still. I mean…to me, relationships seem like a lot of work, but from what Hannah used to tell me, they can also be rewarding. Plus, I like Paul. He's nice and sweet and patient. And I really enjoy being with him. But, I dunno if I want it because I actually like him, or because of all the stuff going on with my mom. And I don't want to hurt him.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks. I shake my head and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"I'm just grateful to have you around," I tell him. He cracks a smile, and I do the same, and I flash back to when I kissed him last night. I liked how his lips felt on mine. Even though it was just a quick peck, I still get butterflies thinking about it. And then I remember that he had to leave early.

"So why did you have to leave last night?" His smile automatically disappears and his face gets this exhausted look, like he's worked double overtime and just wants to go home.

"Quil caught scent of a vampire. It hasn't made any contact with us yet and we haven't found any human bodies as of yet, but Sam increased our patrol time just in case." My jaw drops to the floor as I take in what he said. What in the actual fuck? Did I hear him right?

"Did you just say vampires?" I manage to get out, trying to keep my voice down as I spot several people near our table. Paul automatically understands why I'm surprised.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you don't know. You would have found out if the bonfire hadn't been canceled back in November. Either Billy or Old Quil would have told the legends of our tribe. How vampires are a part of it." Holy crap. This is a lot to take in.

"So…vampires exist. What are they like? How would I spot one?" He sits back in his seat, his hand slipping from mine to run through his hair.

"For one, they don't burn in the sun, like vampires you read about in the books. Garlic, holy water, and silver stakes don't bother them either. Their skin is usually pale white, and is as hard as diamonds. Their skin sparkles in the sunlight like diamonds as well, which might explain why humans came up with the whole 'bursting into flames at the mere touch of sunlight' thing. Their eyes are also blood red, and they are extremely beautiful, which helps draw in prey. They're fast and strong, and no human would stand a chance against one." I can only start breathing again after Paul finishes. "Most of them drink human blood, but there are a few who drink animal blood instead so that they can blend in and live among humans. But our job, the reason why shapeshifters exist is to kill vampires. To protect humans. Which is why I'm probably gonna have to patrol a lot from now on…until either the vampire leaves or we kill it." I nod my head.

"Okay. I understand. You have to make sure we're safe. I just wish you could tell me the legends. They sound like they'd be really interesting." He smiles. "Maybe we could have dinner sometime…and you could tell me then?" it comes out as a question, cause I just took a huge leap of faith and I'm not sure how he's gonna react. I really hope he takes the hint.

He stares at me for a moment before his smile widens. "Are you asking me—" I shrug.

"I told you that I'm demiromantic, and that's true…I mean, I think it is. I've never felt any romantic feelings towards anyone before. I've never had a crush before, and I'm not saying that I have a crush on you. But…I like the way I feel when I'm around you. You make me happy and you give me butterflies in a good way. I like being around you, and…I want to take it slow. Get to know each other more before we decide to define any sort of relationship." I expect him to tell me that he's not interested in taking it slow. That he wants the whole thing and thinks that taking it slow is just a waste of his time. But that never comes. Instead, he says,

"Okay." And once again, my heart flutters in my chest, as I feel truly happy for the first time all day.

* * *

 **A/N: What did you guys think? So I stayed up until three in the morning writing this because I wanted to get a chapter out before February, as I promised I'd get a chapter out at least once a month. And I had originally imagined this chapter ending in a very different way, but I thought it was getting too long for my taste, so I've decided go at it from a different angle. I just have to put here that I already know how this book is going to end. I have nearly everything planned out, and I already know what the sequel is gonna be about. I have a lot in store for this story and these characters and I can't wait for you guys to read it.**

 **On another note, in an earlier chapter, I stated that Autumn is demiromantic, and I stick to that. But as I was writing this, I realized that not everybody knows their sexuality straight away. They might think they're one thing for years, and then one day, they find out they're something else. And I feel like this description fits Autumn, who has never really explored her sexuality and is still trying to figure it out.**

 **Anyway, please review and let me know what you think!**

 **~Gina**


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